Can't Keep Me Away
by ravenclawblonde1428
Summary: 1 yr after BD ignoring Jacob/Renesmee... Ellie moves back to Forks and quickly becomes friends with Jacob Black. But what will happen when she becomes the Cullen clan's newest member's blood singer? Jacob/OC
1. Chapter 1

**The characters used in this story are all property of the lovely and talented Stephenie Meyer's brain. Except for Ellie. And Ava. Who you will learn about later. Okay I'm gonna shut up.**

* * *

I looked out over the grey choppy waters and sighed. Everything seemed so dreary, yet there was a certain mystique about all of it.

"C'mon Ellie!" My best friend Laurel yelled. I got up from the rock I was sitting on and wiped my hands on the back of my shorts. I took one last glance at the crashing waves and ran to catch up with her.

All around me was the beautiful virtually untouched land. I had just moved back to Forks but the three months I had been there the La Push Reservation had quickly become one of my favorite places.

"We should probably load up and go home; it looks like it's about to rain…" My older brother Mike said. He was home from college for the summer and was taking the time to show me around and such. I had missed being away from him for almost 6 years- give or take twice yearly visits- while I was living in England on a study abroad program.

He threw our stuff in the bed of his truck went around to get in. I was about to get in when I saw a group of the reservation boys playing shirts and skins football. They all looked huge and were extremely fast and agile. The skins gathered in a huddle around what seemed to be their captain/quarterback. When they split apart he looked over at us. I felt like time was moving in slow motion. His muscles rippled gracefully under his skin as he breathed. He caught my eye and gave me a kind of critical look before going back to his game. I stood there for a few moments, dazed, before I finally came back to reality with Mike yelling, "El! C'mon. Get in it's pouring!"

I hadn't even noticed.

* * *

"El… what's up with you? Why are you being so quiet?" Laurel chided from the back seat as Mike pulled on to the main road that went through Forks.

"Nothing…" I said quickly as I snapped out of my sort of daydream I had been having about the reservation boys. They all seemed so… super human.

"I promise we can go back to La Push later sis…" Mike said as he looked over at me.

"It's not that… do you know who those guys were that were playing football?" I asked nonchalantly.

"I know a few of them… especially Jacob. He was really good friends with Bella." Mike said grudgingly.

Geez, not Bella again. Mike still wasn't over his pathetic high school crush he had had on this Bella chick. Even though he was dating a girl from his college, he still mentioned her whenever possible.

"Ignoring the Bella comment, was he the one that was the QB for the skins?"

"I didn't get to see, but yeah probably, he's their kinda 'leader'… it's sorta strange."

"Cool."

"Why?" Laurel asked, her voice dripping with innuendo.

"No reason. How old is he?"

"17… are you sure there's no reason?" Mike said with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah. Positive. Just drive Mike… You're driving is bad enough without you grilling people with questions…" I laughed.

"Oh shut up."

* * *

"Are you starting to get used to Forks again?" My dad asked at the dinner table that night.

"Yup. Same relentless rain and smiling faces."

"That's great honey. You know how glad we are to have you home finally." My mom said.

"Yeah, the family is finally back together, what with Mike being home from USC and you being back from Europe…" Dad said happily.

I smiled at everyone as I crammed the last bit of pasta salad in my mouth.

"In a hurry?" Mike questioned.

"Not really. I'm just tired and wanted to get to bed."

My parents nodded but Mike gave me a knowing look.

I checked my Facebook one last time as I heard my dad snoring. I peeked out of my bedroom door and made sure all the lights were off. I quietly shut the door behind me and started to climb out the window. I was almost out when I heard the door open.

"Going somewhere?"

"Mike. Be quiet! It's not like you've never sneaked out before." I whisper yelled at him.

"That is very true. Where are you going?" He said teasingly as he sat on my bed.

"None of your business."

"La Push, huh? Well just a tip, roll your car till the Cramer's house, then start it."

"Shut-… thanks." I smiled at him as I hopped out the window. Thank God for first floor bedrooms.

* * *

The wind whipped through my hair as I stood on the beach and looked at the Full Moon's reflection over the black water. The rain had stopped and left a fine mist hanging in the air.

"Nice night huh?" A voice said from behind me.

I whipped around to see the skins captain sitting on a rock.

"Uh, yeah." I answered.

He got up and walked over to me. "I'm Jacob. Jacob Black."

"Ellie Newton. I just moved here."

"Yeah, Mike's sister right?"

I nodded and continued to look out over the water.

"Ya know, it's kinda dangerous to be out here at night… alone. There could be animals running around." He seemed to think this was extremely funny.

"Whatever. I just needed to clear my head."

"That's understandable." I could tell he was staring at me.

I turned to him and looked into his midnight black eyes.

He smiled warmly. "Have you heard about the huge wolves that run around here?" He said raising his eyebrows.

"Wolves?" I blurted quickly.

"Yup… so it's good you have a big strong guy like me around to protect you…" He said smugly.

"Yeah, okay." I said with a laugh.

"You seem to hang out here a lot…" He said looking out over the water.

"Yeah. I really like it here. It's kinda like a haven away from the real world. Like nothing bad could ever happen here."

"Hah Hah. Yeah sure… we try." He said sarcastically.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well there's those wolves I was telling you about…" He grinned.

"Well unless I actually see one of these said 'wolves' then I'm probably not going to be able to keep away from here. It's just too beautiful."

"Captivating… intriguing don't you think?" Jacob said slyly.

"Definitely." I said wistfully.

"Sometimes when you look out over the water it feels like you're the only one on the face of the Earth."

I smiled.

We sat there for another half an hour just watching the water. Then I slowly got up.

"I probably should get home… I kinda snuck out so…"

"Well hey, it was nice meeting you…" Jacob said slowly with a huge smile.

"Yeah you too…" I said sweetly and walked to my car.

When I was almost there Jacob yelled, "Hey, why don't I go with you and help you roll your car back in the driveway?"

"Thanks… that's actually a great idea since my driveway is uphill…"

* * *

Five minutes later Jacob was single handedly pushing my car up her driveway.

I stood there at the top of the hill in shock. How was he doing that… it wasn't like I drove a little Volkswagen or something… I had seen his totally buff body playing football but I hadn't guessed he was THIS strong.

When he was finished it looked like he hadn't even broken a sweat.

"There ya go." Jacob whispered and started to walk back down the driveway.

"Wait…" I called.

Jacob turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"How did you do that?" I whisper shouted.

"Well, I gotta stay in shape to keep up with the guys…"

I laughed quietly. "Well I guess I'll see you around then…"

"Bye Ellie." Jacob said with a smile as he turned and walked to his car.

* * *

I came out to the beach the next night. I had told myself that I missed the view too much, that La Push beach didn't look the same in the day, but I knew in my heart that I wanted to see him again, and that the only way I could was to come back. I hoped he'd be there. Mike hadn't been happy when he saw Jacob pushing my car up the driveway. He'd told me Jacob was no good and that I should stay away from him, but I just couldn't. I couldn't stay away. I had to see him again.

What was I thinking? I wondered as I walked out on the empty beach. Of course Jacob wouldn't be there. It was one thirty five in the morning! I turned around to head back to my car, resolving to come back tomorrow morning, when he suddenly appeared from out of nowhere.

"Back again?" he asked, hiding a grin of satisfaction.

"Of course," I answered smoothly. I wouldn't let him get the last word.

"So I guess someone's not afraid of the big bad wolf," he said.

"Not until I see one," I answered.

"So you're Newton's little sister?" he asked.

"I think we've gone over this, but yes, yes I am."

"Yeah, I know, but it's just…"

"Just what?" I asked, trying to sound angry. I knew he'd have something to say about Mike. He had been Mike's rival for a girl's affection.

"It's just. You're definitely not as obnoxious as he is," Jacob said, breaking out into a grin.

"Well! If that isn't the rudest thing I've ever heard!" I puffed, walking around him.

"Ellie! I'm sorry! I was teasing! I didn't know you felt so strongly about your brother!" he said chasing after me.

I smiled as I heard his footsteps behind me. "Gotcha!" I said, spinning around on my toe, breaking into laughter.

At first Jacob looked stunned. Then he began to see the picture. "Wow…that was good," he said with his grin back on. "Never would have thought you weren't serious. Call Broadway! We've got ourselves an actress!" he laughed.

That started the flow of conversation. We talked for hours into the night, just about random stuff. He talked about how his friends on the res and how he wanted to be a mechanic and I told him about my years at boarding school in Britain and how Laurel and I reconnected this summer, but I still missed my friends in Europe.

Once it started to get so late you could call it early, we left. Jacob followed me to my house again and effortlessly pushed my car up the hill.

"Say Ellie," Jacob said before getting in his car. "Why not come by during the day sometime. I can't be out to protect you every night," he laughed.

"I'll see you later Jake," I laughed, walking over to my window and climbing in.

* * *

**Hey people! Well this is my first time publishing one of my stories online... so I really hope you enjoy it and please review :)**

**Also, check out my cousin (Hufflepuffbrunette247)'s story b/c they are sort of companion stories... :) yay!**


	2. Chapter 2

Please Please PLEASE REVIEW :)

* * *

I walked around the corner and saw Jacob doing crunches on the beach. I stopped in my tracks as I looked at him. All he had on was a pair of gym shorts. His extremely toned muscles rippled every time he moved. I just stood there for a few minutes with wide eyes and my mouth open. He eventually stopped, got up, and spotted me as he took a sip from his water bottle.

I could tell he thought it was extremely funny how I had been staring at him so I quickly feigned disinterest. "Hey." I said with a nod in his direction.

He continued to laugh. "Impressive huh?"

"Psh, no. I mean, what are you talking about? I just walked up." I needed to put down the shovel and walk away… My pathetic attempt at acting stupid just made him laugh even harder.

"Oh shut up. Fine. Yes, it was extremely impressive and you're extremely attractive." I said before thinking.

"Hmmm attractive too huh?" He said with a dimpled smirk.

"Argh!" I grumbled as I started to walk away, embarrassed beyond belief.

"C'mon Ellie, I was just joking around with you…" Jacob said as he grabbed my hand.

My heart skipped a beat from the feel of his skin on mine. And not because of the fact that he was shirtless and sweaty. His hand was hot. Very hot. Like almost unbearably hot. Unnatural even for someone who had just worked out.

I gave him a puzzled look as he dropped my hand.

"Guess I'm too hot to handle huh?" he asked with a grin on his face.

"Do you have a fever or something?" I asked quickly.

"Nope. I feel great. I could probably do some more crunches if you wanted me to…"

"Jacob. I'm serious. You're burning up."

"For you." He laughed some more.

"Jacob Black. Something is wrong with you and if you're just going to laugh it off and ignore it then I'm just going to go home." I turned around and walked off in a huff.

As I got in my car I looked at the beach and saw that Jacob was standing there looking after me sadly. Maybe I had been too harsh. I contemplated going back but I was already in the car and I would probably just humiliate myself even more. And no matter how mad I was at him, I truly didn't want to hurt Jacob further.

* * *

Hey people! So I know this was kinda short but I'm planning on posting a HUGE scene tomorrow :) So get ready!


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey readers! So, I might have lied... I'm posting the super huge scene right now, instead of tomorrow, mostly because I was planning on posting on my OTHER fanfic tonight also, but that has fallen through, due to some editing issues so... ENJOY :)**

* * *

That night after dinner I decided to drive back to La Push to apologize to Jake. I drove slowly in the drizzly rain. I really didn't think that he would be that angry at me but I still had come up with a long drawn out apology. I was going over it for the umpteenth time when something fell on my car. I slammed on my breaks and sat there for a second breathing heavily. Nothing happened so I got out slowly.

"Please stand still so I can get this over with quickly. I really don't like chasing my prey." A chilly voice said from the roof of my car. I looked up and saw a woman with long dark curly hair and an absolutely gorgeous pale face. Then I noticed her dark red eyes with extremely dilated pupils. I gave her a bewildered look and started to slowly back away.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"Oh, I don't think we need to do introductions… that'll make it harder for me."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my voice now clearly shaking.

She jumped gracefully down from the car and started to walk towards me in fluid elegant steps. I felt for my cell phone in my back pocket and wondered if I could successfully pull it out and dial before she did whatever she wanted to do to me.

"Just stand still… it won't hurt _that_ bad."

"What? What are you going to do to me?" I shrieked but instead of answering she closed the remaining space between us and grabbed me around the neck poised to bite me. I screamed and was about to kick her when something huge flew out of nowhere and knocked the woman to the ground. I fell backwards when she released me. I looked over at the woman and whatever had attacked her and saw that the assailant was a huge russet colored wolf. He had her pinned to the ground and she was laughing maniacally.

"What are you gonna do, bark at me?" She snapped.

The wolf growled loudly and then four more wolves shot by me in a blur. They all gathered around her and I could tell they didn't have good intentions.

I turned away not wanting to see but I heard a man's voice just as I did.

"Boys, it's alright. She's one of us." I looked at the man who had just walked up to the scene. He was beautiful like the woman. Pale as death, with thick blonde hair and warm golden eyes. But I knew he wouldn't hurt a fly.

The wolves all growled but they backed off. Except the russet one.

"Jacob, please believe me. She's a newborn. She lost control. We're trying to help her the best we can but it's still in progress. Whatever was about to happen was stopped so please hand her over to me."

My mouth fell open. There was a **whole** lot of information that I had just heard and not understood. First off, that lady was certainly not a new born. And who was the "we" he had referred to? And most importantly why had he called the wolf Jacob?

The wolf backed off and the man quickly grabbed and restrained her. The russet wolf ran behind my car and then to my surprise Jacob walked out instead of the wolf a few seconds later.

"Jake! Thank God you're here!" I yelled in relief but Jacob ignored me and walked straight up to the man and woman.

"CARLISLE! WHAT IN THE HELL IS SHE DOING OVER HERE? SHE ALMOST KILLED HER!" He said, motioning to me. "YOU SIGNED THE TREATY, YOU KNOW WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED! HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID? TAKE THAT FILTHY BLOODSUCKER OFF OUR LAND AND DON'T COME BACK!"

Jacob was shaking violently but I could tell he was trying to restrain himself. He spit at the feet of the woman.

"Jacob, please try to understand. I didn't mean for this to happen. I'll take her home and if you would like I can come back to discuss this."

Jacob was breathing heavily and clenched his fists as he made a short jerky motion with his head that looked sort of like a nod.

"Okay, I'll be back soon. Make sure everyone knows that we're coming…" Carlisle said then glided off with the woman.

Jacob's shoulders slumped once they had walked away. Then I remembered that he had appeared to be a wolf.

"Jacob…" I said quietly as I got up off the ground. He turned towards me and closed the gap between us in a few short strides.

"Jake, I-" I began but he pulled me into his massive warm arms.

"Never again." He said softly.

* * *

Half an hour later Jacob and four of his friends were standing in his kitchen waiting for Carlisle and "the others" to show up. Jacob had told me to sit in the living room until further notice. The boys were talking in a dull murmur when I heard a knock on the door. A few seconds later there were even more voices.

Jacob peeked his head in the living room. "Hey El, c'mon in here." He said tensely.

I slowly got up and walked into the kitchen. As I did 24 eyes turned to look at me at the same time.

I tried to take in who all was in the room. There were five res kids including Jacob, Quil, Sam, Leah, Seth, and seven incredibly gorgeous and pale people.

I caught Jacob's eye and he gave me a sympathetic look.

"Hello Ellie, I don' think we got the chance to formally meet each other… I'm Carlisle Cullen." Carlisle said as he held out a hand.

I grasped it slowly and gasped. His hand was ice cold and hard as rock. I opened my mouth to speak but another one of the pale people stepped forward.

"I'm Alice. It's nice to meet you. Sorry about Ava…" A girl with short black hair and pixie like features said.

"Emmett Cullen." A large man with short dark hair and a massive muscular body said.

"I'm Edward, and this is Bella." A tall lanky man with copper colored hair said as he wrapped his arm around a brunette who had a pained expression on her face.

"Jasper Hale… nice to meet you." Said a man who looked similar to Carlisle with his thick blonde hair.

Emmett nudged the girl beside him and she shot him a nasty look. "Rosalie." She said bluntly. I could tell she was clenching her teeth together.

"On behalf of our entire family, I would like to apologize for Ava. She isn't quite used to… our lifestyle yet…" Carlisle said slowly, his voice almost songlike.

I searched Jacob's face for an explanation but he and Sam were communicating silently through facial expressions.

We all sat there for a minute not saying anything and I realized it was my cue to say everything was alright.

"Oh, um… It's okay. I guess… I'm incredibly confused though…" I said, looking from face to face.

"Uh, El, maybe you should go sit in the living room for a little bit…" Jacob said slowly.

"Okay…" I got up and walked into the living room. What in the world was going on? Why wouldn't anyone tell me anything? I heard harsh whispers coming from the kitchen and I moved as close as possible to the door without being seen by anyone. I could hear every word they said.

"What do you want us to do, dog?" Rosalie snapped. "Just let her go out in the world and take whoever's life she pleases?"

"No. I want you to take her away from here until she can control herself. Do you know how dangerous this is?" Jacob retorted back.

"Just because your little girlfriend is in danger doesn't mean we should have to just up and move our entire family."

"Rose, calm down." Emmett said calmly. "Jake buddy, I know this is hard. But there was a one in a million chance that Ellie would be Ava's blood singer. This is a lot for _everyone_ to take in at once."

"Well-" Jacob began but was cut off by Edward.

"I think we should lower our voices… and Jacob, I think you have some questions to answer in the living room." Edward said in an icy tone.

No one said anything for a moment, then I heard footsteps walking across the kitchen. I scooted back over to the far side of the couch quickly and tried to look inconspicuous as Jacob walked in.

He looked at the floor for a second and then looked at me with a strange look in his eyes. It was a kind of cross between confusion, terror, and worry.

"Jake, please." I said in barely a whisper. "Just tell me what's going on."

He didn't say anything but a second later Bella came walking through the kitchen door.

"I thought I could maybe help… since I've been through this twice…" She said cautiously as she stared at Jacob's back.

"Is he serious?" Jacob said with an angry laugh.

"Who?" Bella asked.

"Edward… did he really send you in here to 'help'?"

"No… well kind of. Jacob. Why don't we just talk about this later?"

"No. Let's talk now." He said sharply. I had no idea if they were aware I was still in the room or not.

Bella answered that when she turned to me and said, "Excuse us for a moment." And dragged Jacob into the hallway. And yet again, I could still hear everything they said.

"How could you pull _another_ human into this?" I heard Bella whisper harshly.

"ME? Are you serious? You don't know what in the hell you're saying… it was YOUR little friend who caused this. Ellie didn't ever have to know. The blame is totally on your 'family'. How dare you even bring me into this?" Jacob whisper shouted.

"Jake, why are you treating me like this? Why can't we be like we used to? You and me. Jake and Bells?" I heard Jacob laugh sarcastically.

"Seriously? C'mon! Things have changed too much. And by things I mean YOU. You're a vampire. With a husband and kid. We're not pitiful Bella and desperate fifteen year old Jacob anymore… not anywhere close. I've moved on and so should you…"

"I don't think moving on entails getting some random girl that has a similar name and trying to seduce her into being with you." Bella said coldly.

"That. Is it. Get out of my house NOW and don't think for a second that you are ever welcome here again. And take your 'husband' with you." Jacob growled.

Bella stormed out of the hall seconds later and went into the kitchen. Shortly after I heard the front door slam.

A few minutes passed and finally Jacob walked back out into the living room.

"I'm so sorry Ellie. About all of this. I didn't want you to find out this way." He said as we locked eyes. He was in pain. I could tell.

"Jacob, it's okay now. I just want to know." I said as I pulled on his hand to sit down next to me.

He obliged and leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes. And then he told me everything. How Carlisle and Bella and the rest of the pale faced people were vampires. And how there was this thing called a blood singer. It happened when a person had unusually irresistible blood to a vampire and it was very rare to actually find yours. But I was Ava's. And that's why she had attacked me. She was actually very nice but she was newly turned or a "new born", so her self control was shaky especially with her blood singer around.

And then he told me about himself. And the other res kids. How they were Werewolves, or more properly called Shapeshifters. He told me the whole Quileute legend. How as long as the Cullens were living in Forks, him and the other boys were stuck being wolves. And how they couldn't age until the vampires were gone. He told me about imprinting and how it was supposed to be like the strongest form of love possible, and supposed to be very rare but how he was one of the few res kids who hadn't imprinted. How Sam had been the pack leader until last year when Jacob had formed his own pack with his step siblings, Leah and Seth. He told me about Edward and Bella and all the fights and the Volturi.

When he was finished all I could do was sit there and stare at him. I wasn't really feeling anything. Not scared or shocked or excited. Nothing.

"Ellie? Please say something." Jacob pleaded looking at me with extreme worry.

"Wow." Was all I could manage before I passed out.

* * *

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!! :) I'm more likely to write faster and post more often if I have encouragement :)**


	4. Chapter 4

I opened my eyes blearily and tried to register where I was. I felt very warm, almost too warm, but cozy nonetheless. A mixture of smells enveloped me: cinnamon, pine, fabric softener, and Old Spice. A feeling of comfort shrouded me and I started to let myself fall back into the peaceful lull of sleep, when I felt whatever I was lying against shift and a face appeared before me. I blinked a few times to let my eyes focus. It was Jacob. He looked extremely worried and it made me laugh. Worry wasn't something natural for Jacob's face to show. But then I saw something else in his eyes: fear. I let my grin relax and knitted my eyebrows together.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly.

I tried my best to nod.

"How are you feeling?"

I couldn't really gage how I was feeling. There were many emotions pumping through me: comfort, confusion, sleepiness, worry, happiness, and frustration.

"I'm fine…" was what I said instead.

His shoulders relaxed a little. As I tried to sit up, I felt a gentle pressure on the small of my back, and realized Jacob was trying to help me up and that _he_ was what I had been sleeping against. I allowed him to help me, then wrapped my arms around my knees.

"Do you remember last night?" He asked cautiously.

I racked my brains and finally pulled out that last conversation we had had. I sighed and nodded.

He looked at me expectantly. "And…"

"I-I-I just don't know… I don't know what to think…"

"I guess that was too much to expect of you… I'm sorry…." Jacob said with anguish laced in his voice.

I tried to distinguish what I felt about what Jacob had told me the night before. I was terrified. But looking at Jacob's face, twisted in agony, I felt something else. Something weak, but still established. Intrigue. Intrigue and a longing. A longing to be with him. Slowly but surely, that longing grew, and started to overtake everything else I had been feeling.

Just then, Sam walked in. "Jacob. Is everything alright?"

Jacob looked at me anxiously. I just glanced from him to Sam and then back again.

"Is she staying?" Sam asked, this time his voice full of impatience. Jacob stood up slowly and looked down at me, holding out his big, warm hand. He gave me an inquiring look and shrugged slightly.

I realized that staying would mean more than just staying on the reservation for a few more minutes. It meant staying in Forks. Staying in the same town that my mortal enemy lived. Staying with Jacob. Staying to fight. Sticking around for the long haul.

I looked deep into Jacob's expressive eyes and slid my hand into his. His hand basically swallowed mine up, but somehow they seemed to fit perfectly together.

* * *

Not even an hour later the rest of the pack had congregated in the living room. It was like they all lived in one house or something.

"So you're staying Ellie?" Sam asked, a stern look on his face.

"Yes, I want to stay here with my family and friends," I said firmly.

"Do you know all the different kinds of danger that puts you in?" one of them asked. It might have been Jared, or maybe Paul.

I looked helplessly at Jacob, edging him on to speak for me.

"She knows. Trust me." He said softly, studying my face.

"So what are we going to do?" Sam demanded. I could tell Jacob and him were not the best of friends.

Jacob turned to him and I saw his jaw was clenched. "Well first off, we need to establish who's going to be in charge here…" He growled.

"Jacob, stop acting like a baby." Leah chastised.

"Leah, stay out of this." Jacob snarled. "Sam. I think I should be in control here since I'm the one that brought her into this mess."

"Whatever you say, brother…" Sam said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Jacob clenched his fists in his lap but after I placed my hand on his arm, he let them gradually relax.

"Okay. We need a plan. Do we really trust the blood suckers to keep control of their newest leech?"

Everyone seemed to agree they couldn't.

"Well that means she needs protected. Constantly. Wherever she is, she'll need one of us with her…"

"Yeah right, like you'll let anyone but yourself to do it…" Leah said under her breath, but loud enough to be heard by Jacob. He ignored her and continued.

"What about my parents? Oh GOD! MY PARENTS!" I shrieked. I hadn't even thought about the fact that I had been passed out/slept through the night. I got up from the table and ran into the living room, pulling my phone out of my pocket as I went. I flipped it open and saw I had 5 missed calls and 8 new texts. But they were all from Mike. Not my home phone.

I scanned the texts and saw the first few were the expected: _Where r u? _and _Call me! _But the last one let me breathe. It said: _I'm sure ur La Push… and I'm covering for u. But call me ASAP!_ I dialed Mike's number and it rang only once before he answered.

"Ellie! Where the hell are you?" He whisper shouted.

"I'm at Jacob's house…"

"What have you been doing there all night long?!"

"My blood sugar got low and I passed out… Jacob was nice enough to let me stay. No big deal." I said calmly. I had learned early on that fighting fire with fire when it came to Mike: not a good idea.

"He should have just driven you home!"

"Mike, it's OKAY. I'm okay, everything's okay. Stop freaking out and tell me what you told mom and dad so our stories will line up."

I heard him breathing heavily for a few seconds and I could tell he was fuming. "I told them you were at Laurel's. And I called her so she would know. But you need to get back home ASAP. I don't want you hanging over there anymore."

"Mike! You're not my father! Stop treating me like I'm a child! I'm not! I'm capable of making my own decisions and keeping safe!" I chose to leave out the whole 'nearly getting killed by a vampire' thing.

"Ellie. Just get home now."

"I can't now. When I can, I will. Bye." I hung up with shaking hands and walked briskly back into the kitchen. Jacob gave me a worried look but I shook my head and sat back down.

"Where were we?" I said, not wanting to have to dwell on my random outburst.

"Ummm… you need to be under watch 24/7." Jacob said slowly.

I nodded.

"Well Jacob, how do _you_ plan on watching her 24 hours a day?" Leah said smartly.

"During the day it won't be that hard… parents know that 17 year olds aren't going to normally hang around the house during the summer… but the night… the night will be trickier."

"Why don't you just sleep in her yard like you did with Bella?" Leah said smugly.

"Why don't you shut the hell up…"

"Jake, don't talk to her like that…" Sam shot at him.

"Sam, you're the last person I need help from…" Leah snapped.

Sam narrowed his eyes and Jacob growled at him.

"Okay guys! Let's settle down and focus!" Seth shouted.

Everyone looked at him in shock, but got quiet.

"Right. Ummm… what to do at night…" Jacob said quietly.

"Leah may have not been trying to be serious, but it's a possibility. You and a few others could sleep outside her house. It would be the most effective way to ensure her protection." Sam said calmly.

Jacob nodded and looked at his hands.

"No. Jacob I don't want you having to sleep outside every night. Can't I just sneak out and come here and then sneak back in before my parents wake up?"

Jacob gently grabbed my hand. "There's less chance of getting caught if I just sleep outside…"

I sighed and nodded. "But if I can think of something else…"

"Of course."

* * *

**Hey! Sorry it took so long but here it is! **

**-Ravenclawblonde :)**


	5. Chapter 5

"What is he doing here?!" Mike screeched as he looked out my bedroom window to see Jacob leaning against his car.

"He's waiting for me… we're going… out."

"No. No You're not." Mike turned to face me and the fury in his eyes scared even me.

"What is your problem?"

"MY problem? You have been home for all of two weeks and you're already hanging out with the wrong kids!"

"What qualifies Jacob as 'wrong', Mike? The fact that he was your rival for a girl's affection?"

"Shut up…" He murmured, moving to sit on my bed.

I sat down beside him. "Listen, I like Jacob. And I'm sorry I scared you when I stayed at his house last night… but I want to be with him… need to be with him. Now."

"Jesus Christ, Ellie! You've known him for about a week! How serious can you be?"

I shot him a condescending look and got up.

"Just forget it… I'll be back… later." As I made a move for the door, Mike stood in my way.

"Ellie… please tell me this is just a summer fling…"

"Sure Mike…" I mumbled, shoving past him.

* * *

I climbed into the passenger seat of Jacob's car and looked up at my window to see Mike looking down. I turned away and concentrated on spot on the console.

"Brother trouble?"

I nodded.

"Mike's a good guy… he just thinks he's protecting you…"

"I know."

Jacob head bobbed up and down and he bit his lip.

"Jake, we can leave… it's fine."

He kept nodding and finally put the car into drive. We were both silent for a few minutes before he finally spoke.

"So… I was thinking that maybe we could do something fun today…" He mumbled.

"What did you have in mind?"

He raised his eyebrows and grinned playfully. "You'll see…"

* * *

"You have to be kidding me!" I said 15 minutes later, looking over the edge of a massive cliff, high above the rough waters and jagged rocks that lurked below.

"Nope." Jacob said plainly, pulling his t-shirt over his head. I blushed violently and he smirked at me before taking my hand. "C'mon."

"I don't know… I'm not really in the mood to dive off a cliff to my eminent death… sorry. I already have a vicious, blood thirsty vampire on my heels, I'd like to keep my chance of dying today very minimal…" I looked at my feet and tried to ignore the heat searing through my hand.

He pulled me down to sit beside him on a rock. "Ellie… you're gonna be okay. I trust the Cullens… and even if by some chance, Ava gets away, I am sure as hell not going to let her touch you again. Trust me…"

I scratched a nonexistent itch on my nose and looked out over the gray, gloomy water. "I do trust you… but I'm still scared. I can't help it."

"I know… but all you can do is be safe, i.e. never leave my side, and try to not think about it…"

I sighed. "Yeah… but I already feel like I'm imposing… I mean, you have to basically babysit me all day, every day… and then what about when school starts again?"

Jacob put a finger to my mouth and laughed. "Do you hear me complaining about it? If being at the side of a pretty girl 24/7 was what babysitting was about, hell, I would've started babysitting a long time ago…"

I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"So… will you jump?"

I looked back at the cliff again. "Sure."

* * *

A week passed and I hadn't seen Ava or any of the other vampires once. Jacob, well I found myself falling for him… hard. It was inevitable. Something I couldn't escape.

He was super good at distracting me whenever I started to worry. He was a lot of fun, especially when he bothered Mike, which was frequently. But most of all, he was my protector.

He had slept outside of my house every day, through thunderstorms and relentless rain. He said it was worth it, but still it bothered me.

It was the eighth night from the attack that I finally decided to put my foot down.

"Jacob… really, I don't want you to sleep outside anymore." I said just as he was climbing out the window to take his night post.

"It's okay… honestly. We're wolves… it's natural."

"But you're not always a wolf. You're a human too. And humans shouldn't sleep outside. Please just let me come back to La Push with you… I can sleep on the couch and then you can drive me back home before morning…"

"I don't know, El…"

"C'mon… it's not just you… poor Seth is out there too…"

Jacob looked impassively down into the yard. "Yeah… I guess."

"So that's a yes?"

"As long as you promise me one thing… you'll let me sleep on the couch… what kind of boyfriend makes his girl sleep on the couch while he's sacked out in his bed?"

I grinned. "Boyfriend?"

He laughed and shook his head. "C'mon… we had better go before Mike *insert witty nickname here* wakes up and stop us…"

* * *

Another week passed and my parents were starting to get suspicious.

"Honey, don't you think you are spending too much time with that Jacob boy?" or "Why don't you hang out with Laurel anymore?" were common phrases in the Newton household. Not to mention Mike.

"Something's going on… I know it. You're sneaking out every night… I've seen you…" He sounded like a crazed, well, older brother.

But I just BS'd excuse after excuse and Mom, Dad, and sometimes even Mike, ate it right up.

"You know, you're eventually going to run out of things to say…" Jacob said grinning as we walked down Main Street, his arm draped casually over my shoulder.

"Nah… they're pretty gullible…."

"He's right Ellie… you're going to have to get some new material!" Quil yelled from about twenty feet behind us.

Yes, I had a pack surrounding me. Not to where anyone could really notice, but close enough that in case Ava came around, I was well protected.

Quil and Leah walked behind us and Seth and Embry walked in front.

Suddenly Jacob stopped and tensed up.

"What is it?" I asked, my heartbeat starting to accelerate.

"Gather in!" He yelled and the pack closed in around me within seconds. I noticed some people were now staring.

"Jacob. What is going on?"

"I smell them. They're here…"

"Honestly Jacob. This is sad…" A smooth, cold voice said from behind us. We all whipped around to see Edward standing there with a smirk on his face and his hands in his pockets.

The pack stepped a few feet away and tried to look more natural.

Jacob let out a sigh of relief. "Well, with bloodsuckers wandering the streets aimlessly, I find it's best to be… safe."

"There's an easier way than this…" Edward said quietly.

Jacob gave him a questioning look.

"You're not going to like it… at first. But I really think that it will help out the situation for BOTH sides…"

"Get to the point leech."

"Well, Ellie and Ava could have 'therapy sessions' together. It would be as simple as Ellie being in the same room as Ava. That way Ava could get used to her blood and the risk would lower immensely."

"You're joking, right?" Jacob's arm tensed around my shoulder. "Just throw them in a room together and it will all be better?"

"Of course not! Ellie will be VERY well protected during all of this. In fact, I'll even let you decide the level of protection necessary."

Thunder rolled softly over head and everyone looked to the skies.

"What do you say?" Edward asked.

Jacob looked at me intently.

"Whatever will make this better…" I whispered.

"Fine. Tomorrow. Your house. And I'll be bringing a few friends…" Jacob said icily as the rain let out and we turned around and walked away.

* * *

**Hey people! I'm sorry this took so long to post (according to some standard that says if you don't post every week the world will end or something...) but I'm nearing the end of junior year and the work load has increased ten fold. So bear with me until May 21! :) Thanks to Kendall as always for many ideas and words of encouragement :) **

**-Ravenclawblonde :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh wow... it's been awhile... well I'll keep it brief, I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters... Ellie, however, is mine :) Now you may read... :)**

* * *

The Cullen's house was massive. It was deep in the woods and even though it was huge and white and ornate, it seemed to fit in with the misty trees that surrounded it.

Jacob and I walked hand in hand up the little path leading to the front door as Quil and Leah trailed behind. Seth had begged to go and Jacob had originally agreed, but Sam had convinced him to only take two wolves since we were already encroaching on the Cullen's property and the more wolves, the higher the tension would be.

Before we had reached the top step the door opened.

"Good. Right on time." Edward said bluntly motioning for us to follow him. He led us to a large room that was completely cleared out except for a few chairs lined up against the wall.

I looked around and saw that the whole Cullen clan was in the room except Emmett and Ava.

"Okay, let's get started." Edward said.

I tried to steady my trembling hands and look confident but Jacob caught on.

"Can you give us a few minutes?" Jacob said coldly as he gently pulled me over to the side. "Are you okay?"

"Honestly… no. But this needs to happen."

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Trust me."

"I do Jacob."

He stood there for a minute studying my face before kissing my lightly on the head. "Are you ready?"

I smiled up at him and nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

"Bring her in, Emmett…" Edward yelled into the hall.

Immediately I felt the tension in the room skyrocket. Jacob's arm stiffened around my waist and my heart started to race.

I heard soft footsteps and peeked around Quil to see her standing against the opposite wall. The woman that had tried to kill me. Emmett and Edward stood poised to each side of her, ready for any sense of her predatory instincts to kick in.

"Are you breathing?" Carlisle asked her.

She shook her head and her dark curls fell into her face, making her look dark and sinister which definitely didn't ease my worry.

"Ava… you've got to breathe. That's the only way we can make any progress…" Carlisle said slowly.

All eyes trained on her, she looked around, then finally took a deep breath. As she did, she threw her head back and got an absolutely terrifying look on her face. Then she lunged and everyone sprung into action.

Jacob threw his arms around me, Quil and Leah jumped in front of him, Edward and Emmett pinned Ava to the floor and the rest of the vampires formed a wall in between us. For a moment the room was silent except for Ava's struggling and my ragged, quickened breaths.

I looked up through a crack in Jacob's arms and saw Emmett now had Ava up against the wall and she wasn't struggling any more, but instead looking completely despondent and tortured.

"I'm…I'm so sorry… maybe this is too soon…" she meekly said.

"I agree. We should go." Jacob said gruffly, slowly lessening his hold on me.

The vampires just looked at each other.

"No." I said quietly.

"What?" he whispered.

"We need to stay… but maybe we should go about this differently."

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked, smoothly gliding over to me and Jacob.

I looked up at Jacob, trying to see how he was feeling. He looked scared, mad, confused, and a heap of other negative emotions. I rubbed his arm as I looked back at Carlisle.

"I think… if Ava and I got to know each other… instead of just trying to get her to not attack me… I mean, wouldn't it be harder for her to attack a friend then some random girl?"

Rosalie laughed icily and walked over to us. "No offense, but you obviously don't know anything about how vampires work… we could attack our own family if we're hungry enough… all inhibitions are thrown away…"

"I dunno Rose… I think we should give it a chance…" Alice said. I smiled at her warmly and she returned it.

"Jacob… it's up to you…" said Carlisle.

He looked down at me then back at Ava. Closing his eyes, he drew a breath and nodded.

"Okay then… how exactly should we go about this Ellie?"

I thought for a moment then looked at Jacob's pained expression again. I had to get him out of this house, at least for a few hours. "How about… Ava and I talk over the telephone… from the safety of our own houses… that way there will be no temptation for her, and no danger for me…"

"You think that alone will help?" Edward said skeptically.

"Well… I guess we could have more of these little sessions… but only once we've gotten to know each other better."

"Fair enough." Edward said gravely.

"Edward, why don't you let Ava speak for herself?" Alice chirped.

All eyes were once again on Ava. She looked wildly from me to Carlisle to Jacob before finally giving a little nod.

"Great. Good. We're leaving now." Jacob said gruffly.

The vampires made a little path for us as we walked towards the door. Just as we were about to leave, I stopped and looked at Ava.

"Whenever you're ready, you can call me at Jacob's house. Just ask Edward for the number…" I gave her a meek smile as I said it, for some reason, I felt sorry for her. Maybe it was because I knew what she had gone through to become a vampire. Or maybe it was because of the intense sadness I saw in her scarlet eyes. Whatever it was, I was determined to dwell on that and not the fact that she thirsted for my blood.

* * *

When we got back to the Black's house I promptly walked to the kitchen and sat down in a chair close to the phone. Jacob loped in after me and pulled up a chair.

The drive back had been a short one, but it had given Jacob enough time to calm down, and me enough time to shake off what little fear I was still feeling.

"Ellie, do you honestly think she's going to call right away?" He said slowly as if zstalking to a child.

I ignored him, but slid my hand into his just so he wouldn't think I was really angry with him. After all, he had just proved to me exactly how fiercely he would protect me.

About fifteen minutes passed by and I heard the other members of the pack come inside one by one, all of them just floating by the kitchen, not stopping to talk, but instead giving me confused or worried looks.

Jacob had started nodding off and I myself was getting sleepy, when the phone suddenly rang.

I snatched it off the wall and stuck my tongue out at Jacob playfully when he rolled his eyes at me.

"Hello?" I asked swiftly.

"Um, hi… this is Ava." The harmonic voice on the other end said.

"Hi Ava… I'm glad you called."

"Yeah… me too."

She seemed hesitant, but I could tell she really wanted to make an effort.

"So…how are you? Aside from the whole me wanting to eat you thing. I'm really, really sorry about that by the way."

"It's…it's okay, I understand…I think."

"Thanks. Okay, let's not think about that anymore. So Jacob is…I guess you two are dating or something right?"

I smiled and glanced over at Jacob who had drifted off. "Yeah…yeah we are. But you probably didn't want to hear all about the love life of a seventeen year old."

"It's really not like I have anything better to do. I'm not allowed to leave the house until my eyes stop being red. I hate that they're red of all colors, it's so creepy. We have to talk about something and I'd rather you talk than me."

I shuddered at the mention of those red eyes. She was right; it would be easier to talk about me. "Well okay…Jacob…he's my rock. My rock in the midst of all this…there's just something so real about him…I don't know…but my brother Mike doesn't understand, and I can tell some of the pack would rather us not be together…but it's just the beginning…I feel like I'm always imposing…do you think I should end it?"

"Awww, you two make a cute couple, I can even tell over the phone. I don't know what to tell you. Since it's my fault you probably shouldn't break up with him, besides, he would be really upset if you did. Ugh, I know what you're talking about with your brother though, I have…had…have two…" she paused for a second. "Really Edward?!?! Can't you do that somewhere else?" she yelled, probably across one of the Cullens' huge, spacious rooms. "They're…they're uh…well they're kissing, but they're doing it right in the open where everyone can see it!"

"Who is?" I asked.

"Edward and Bella! You'd think with a child they'd be able to control themselves, but noooooo."

I could hear Edward's retort. "Well Renesmee isn't in here, now is she?"

"Aww, I think it's cute." I thought about something for a minute. "Wasn't Bella Edward's blood singer?"

"Um, yeah, I guess so, why?"

"Well…this is kinda awkward but…not all vampires fall in love with their blood singers, right?"

"Oh, uh, you're right, that is awkward. I certainly hope not. I don't think my husband would like that, not to mention Jacob…" she paused again. "EDWARD!!!" she screamed across the living room. I heard them talking in hushed voices, then she got back on the phone. "He says we probably won't. You don't feel anything do you?"

"NO! Not at all! I'm not like that…at all. I really, really, really like Jacob, and you have a husband?" It was a little hard to think of.

"Okay, okay, good, me neither. Well, technically, I have a widower and two motherless children, but I guess you could call them a husband and kids."

"That's…that's really sad." I had never though about that. Every vampire that existed had to have left some sort of family behind, hat to totally re-create themselves. Had to try and forget.

Ava sighed. "Yeah, I miss them, but there's no use in getting all depressed again. I've offered to let jasper take me out to Volterra and shove me into the sunlight several times, the Volturi will kill you if you expose yourself, especially in Volterra. He might just take me up on it one day." She chuckled nervously, "he's been getting a lot of that lately. Since…well, this, I'm always thinking 'what would they think if they could see this?' and then poor Jasper has to feel everything I feel."

I could tell from the tremor in her voice she was becoming quite upset. "Again, I'm sorry, but I'm glad we've gotten to talk a bit. I think this will really help our situation and I hope we can maybe become friends one day."

"Me..me too," she said, her voice was still shaking. "and thank you, I couldn't have hoped for you to be so understanding about all this. Oh! I'm so sorry I'm crying like this too, you must think I've escaped from a mental hospital or something. Okay, I guess I should be going."

"Bye Ava. I'll usually be at Jacob's house the next time you want to call, but just in case I'm not here's my home number." I listed off my phone number, Ava said goodbye and we hung up.

I put up the phone, looked over at Jacob and smiled as his head bobbed up and down in rhythm with his slow sleeping breaths.

"Hey sleepyhead, I better be heading home…" I whispered, shaking him gently.

He slowly opened his eyes and blinked blearily. "Mmmm… okay." He grumbled.

I laughed and squeezed his hand. "I'm gonna go get my purse, okay?"

"Sure thing…"

I walked down the hall and thought about what a crazy day it had been. Once I had gotten my purse I started back towards the kitchen but stopped when I heard voices whispering. I turned around as to not be nosy, but paused when I heard my name.

"You have got to stop this thing with Ellie."

"And why the hell would I do that, Leah?"

"This is stupid. What you're doing with her. You could imprint on some other girl ANY DAY… And then what?... Then she'll be like me. And you'll be just like Sam. Is that what you want?"

"That's… not going to happen."

"How do you know?"

"Just… shut up Leah. You're being stupid. It won't happen." A few seconds later the kitchen door swung open and Jacob huffed out. "Ellie! You ready to go already?"

I swallowed hard and nodded, trying to not let on that I had caught that whole conversation.

"You okay?" he whispered into my hair as he put his arm around me and we started walking towards my car.

"Yeah… it's just…"

"Just what?" he asked, turning me around to face him.

As I looked into his dark, tired eyes, I knew I couldn't let him know I had heard what Leah had said.

Smiling, I said, "Nothing," and pulled him to my car.

When we reached my house, we pulled the normal routine, waiting until my parents were asleep till Jacob climbed into my room.

Usually I could stay alert until we were at least at the Black's house, but tonight, I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Do you just want to sleep here?" Jacob asked softly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

I nodded and leaned my head on his shoulder. "Okay, well I guess I'll go get set up outside then…" He said, getting up slowly and starting towards the window.

"No…" I whispered, tugging on his arm till he finally came and sat back down beside me on my bed.

He opened his mouth to speak but I interrupted him, "Quil will be okay out there by himself…"

Jacob smiled and wrapped his big, warm arms around me. I buried my face in his chest and let myself slip away into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Wellllllll I know I took a monumental break... but here it is! Enjoy! And if you do enjoy, please let me know! :) **

**Oh and I also want to thank my cousin, Kendall (hufflepuffbrunette) for dealing with my stubborn procrastination and writer's block... she gets to hear first hand my excuses for not posting sooner, which I will spare from you lovely readers :)**

**-Shelby :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters… though I do wish I owned Jacob ;) heehee… I do own Ellie though so that's cool I guess :) Okay, now read!**

* * *

The days following the phone call were peaceful. Everyone finally seemed to be calming down, like we had finally gone from red alert to maybe a bright yellow. We even had another session at the Cullen's that went remarkably well. Ava was able to control herself monumentally better than the last time and we even got to where we could stand right in front of each other without her freaking out.

Things had finally settled in at home too. Mike finally resigned to the fact that Jacob was my boyfriend and he was going to be seeing a lot of him. My parents no longer questioned where I was headed; they knew it was always La Push. I still saw Laurel every once in awhile, thankfully though, she had a summer job, so she didn't have the chance to really notice my blatant absence.

La Push was a crazy place to hang out. At first, the quiet serene nature at the shore had mystified me, but now that I had met the boys, a moment of silence was a rare and cherished thing.

It seemed like all they ever did was play sports, cliff dive, and eat. Jacob tried to include me in stuff they did, but I was perfectly fine to stay to the side with the other girls on the res.

I never actually had eaten a meal at the Black's house, the truth was, the boys hadn't really sat down since I had met them. They would just come inside, empty the fridge and go back out.

One night, Sue, Leah and Seth's mother, had had enough.

"That's it. You boys are going to sit down and eat at the table if it's the last thing I do!"

They all exchanged glances and grew silent.

"Now… I want all of you to go watch TV until dinner is ready… is that understood?"

Murmured, "Yes ma'am"s and grumbles followed as they all shuffled into the living room.

"Okay. Now that it's just us girls, why had better start cooking!" Sue said with a smile as she turned to the stove.

I grinned, it had been a long time since I had helped my mother in the kitchen, but I remembered how much I always enjoyed it.

As Sue chirped orders to Leah, Emily, and myself, a feeling washed over me. A feeling of true, sincere family.

It made me a little bit sad, knowing that I had in a way abandoned my family since summer had started. But they were hardly home, what with the store to run. Still, I made a mental note to make more of an effort to spend some time at home instead of always sashaying off to La Push.

As I was stirring a massive pot of gravy, someone walked up behind me and took the spoon out of my hands.

I turned around to see Jacob tasting the gravy.

"How is it?" I asked.

"Perfect…" He said with a smile, putting the spoon back in the gravy. As he did, he kind of cornered me at the stove. The heat of the kitchen intensified and I felt my cheeks flush.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and I looked up into his eyes.

"Jacob! Get out! I thought I told you to stay in the living room…" Sue shooed at him with her dish cloth.

"I was just checking up on my girls…" He laughed, backing out of the kitchen. Before he left, I saw Leah give him the stink eye. He ignored her and gave me a little wave as he disappeared into the living room.

I had forgotten until that moment about what I had overheard Leah say to Jacob. I made another mental note to find the time to coerce Jacob to tell me what in the world Leah was talking about.

When we had finished dinner, I gasped at the finished product. The little kitchen table seemed to almost buckle under to weight of the piles upon piles of food. It honestly looked like we were feeding a small army. Which I guess in a way, we were.

"Now to call in the troops." Sue winked, reinforcing my metaphor. She didn't even have to yell for them: the boys had heard and all came bustling through the door at once. I took my seat between Jacob and Sue and smiled at the sight before me.

There were enough seats at the table, but all the boys were squished up against each other, with barely enough room to lift their forks to their mouths.

I ate my fill, but it seemed like the pack just get eating and eating and eating. They were like bottomless pits!

Once all the food was promptly inhaled, all the guys stood up, ready for their next escapade.

"Hey! We should totally go cliff diving!" Embry suggested.

"Yeah!" the other wolves agreed. "It's been a while since I've seen a thrill," Jared joked.

"Awww…I don't want to!" Leah whined.

"You don't have to, and you don't have to ruin everyone else's fun, and yet, you choose to!" Jacob teased.

"C'mon Leah, we can just sit on the edge and watch. It'll be fun!" Emily said, pulling on her arm.

"Alright," Leah sighed.

"It's good you kids are entertaining yourselves, because Sue and I are going to catch a late show at Port Angeles." Billy said taking Sue's hand as she smiled at him and with that they headed out the door. Over everything we could hear the pick-up start as they drove out of the driveway.

As soon as we knew they were gone most of them started to head out the door. I got up to follow them assuming adventurous Jacob would want to partake in his favorite extracurricular.

"Wait," he said grabbing my hand. "I thought we could do something here."

"Alright," I smiled, sitting back down beside him.

"Jake! Aren't you coming?" Seth asked.

"No, I think El and I are just gonna hand out here… you guys go on ahead," he said giving Seth a wink. I had no idea what that was for, but I guessed I was going to find out. Finally everyone was gone and we were sitting alone in the living room. It seemed so strange that so many people had just fit in the little house.

"I'm glad everyone finally settled down together. It made Sue really happy… Your family is really nice Jake." I said with a smile, looking up at him.

He put his arm around me and grinned. "Good, because you're gonna be seeing a lot more of them."

I paused. "Should I be scared?"

"Of my family? Nah…" He joked.

"Jacob, you know what I mean…" I said.

His smile faded as he turned to face me. "I don't know babe. We're gonna try everything we can to keep you safe. I honestly feel a lot better after that last meeting at the leeches' house. Now if they can just keep her well fed, you should be 100% okay. Not that I trust them farther than I can throw them." he said through clinched teeth.

I knew he was scared, but I just didn't understand why he was always so volatile towards the Cullens. They seemed like nice enough people. "…Why do you hate them so much?"

"Why don't _you_?" he questioned critically.

I gave him a look and he sighed. "Well, I mean, we're natural born enemies. They're bloodsuckers. Why shouldn't I hate them?"

It made sense, but it seemed like none of the other pack members harbored such a deep intense hatred for the vampires. "There's more to it…"

He shook his head like he was trying to forget something. "I don't know if I should tell you…"

"It's okay… I won't judge. I promise." I rubbed his big warm arm softly.

"It's not that. It's just I don't think you would want to hear it."

I scrunched my eyebrows together and wondered what in the world he could be talking about. Unless… Bella. That first night… when they were talking in the hallway… I knew something serious had gone on between them.

"It's Bella isn't it?" I whispered.

He looked down and sighed. "Yeah. Yeah it is. Do you still want me to tell you?"

I nodded. I would rather him go ahead and get it out of the way than have him hide it from me.

"Okay… I'll start from the beginning. Bella moved here to stay with her dad three years ago. We had known each other when we were little and I had always thought she was cute but when I saw her for the first time in years, I was blown away. She was beautiful." He paused here to study my face, probably looking for any sign of pain or to wait for me to tell him to stop. But I just motioned for him to continue.

"Well, she met Edward and instantly fell for the stupid blood sucker. I mean, I couldn't really compete with him could I? He was irresistible to her and I was just the little kid who was two years younger than her." He shrugged. "So that was how it was going to be… or so I thought. Then the bloodsucker left her 'for her own good' and she came to me to cheer her up. I think she called me her 'own personal sunshine' or something… Whatever I was, I see now she was just kinda using me. During that time, I first changed. I shot up, and grew and starting eating tons and basically got to looking like I was 20… so I guess my appeal went up. I always knew she had feelings for me but she wouldn't admit it… especially when the bloodsucker came back. Then it looked like I was knocked out of the picture again."

At this point, I could tell Jacob was hurting. And I didn't like it. Not one bit. I hadn't really liked Bella to begin with, but my dislike for her was now intensified dramatically.

He continued, "But then, it happened. She finally told me she loved me too. But I always knew she loved him more. Which she proved by marrying him and then letting him knock her up and turn her into a leech…"

"I'm sorry…" I said softly as I grabbed his large warm hand.

He smiled. "Well I guess it kinda worked out in my favor though… because when Bella turned, she was a married vampire with a kid. It wasn't like I could date her… not that I even wanted to anymore. So I was finally free from Bella's spell over me. It felt weird at first. But then I felt this huge weight lifted off of me. And then I found you. And I knew that Bella choosing Edward was the best thing that has ever happened to me." He lowered his voice at the end and squeezed my hand gently. "Because El, you are the single most important thing to me now." He lifted my chin so I was looking straight into his sweet dark eyes. My heart started to race. Our faces slowly drifted together and when our lips met, I immediately knew that Jacob Black was the single most important thing to me too. It was a simple kiss, but it said so much. It said what couldn't be said with words. When we broke apart he kissed my forehead sweetly and I wound my arms around him. His intense body heat warmed me to the bone and lulled me into a deep peaceful sleep.

* * *

I was awakened by what sounded like a stampede of elephants. I blearily opened my eyes and saw the whole pack filing into the living room.

"Awww… look at the lovebirds…" Seth laughed.

"You've gone soft Jake…" Quil joked as he plopped down in an armchair.

"What are we having a meeting or something?" Jacob said, he voice sounding irked, yet I could tell he was in good spirits.

"Nope. We're having a bonfire and thought we had better come retrieve you two…" Quil said.

"I was against it…" Leah sniffed.

"Of course you were…" Jacob muttered.

"Well are you coming or not?" Seth asked, bouncing up and down like a little puppy. Sure he might have been 16, but he was still the youngest of the main group of wolves and took his role as the energetic youngster quite seriously.

Jacob shrugged and looked at me.

I shrugged back then said, "Let's go!"

* * *

Down at the beach, I was reminded slightly of my earlier visits to La Push. Before I had known Jacob.

The wind was strong and the cloudy night sky threatened to rain, but the moon and stars still managed to peek out between cracks in the clouds.

Even though it was the dead of summer, the night was chilly and I immediately wished I had brought a jacket. I looked out over the black glassy water and shivered as a pair of huge warm arms wrapped around me from behind. Who needs a jacket when you have a human heater for a boyfriend?

As a few of the boys got a fire going, the rest of us took our places on the rocks placed around the fire in a circle.

A mischievous mood hung in the air and I soon found myself laughing at the pack's crazy antics.

Soon enough, the inevitable happened, Quil brought out the beer. I wasn't shocked or anything… I knew kids my age drank and I knew the pack could get rowdy sometimes. I just politely declined when it was offered, as did Jacob- probably out of respect to me- and watched as the pack grew more and more unruly and crazy.

I was fairly certain that the whole town of Forks and neighboring cities could hear the ruckus emitting from the beach.

We were all dancing and laughing and whooping and hollering and for the first time in weeks, I felt free. Like there wasn't anything in the world holding me back. Particularly not a blood thirsty vampire.

I texted Mike at about midnight to tell him I was at Laurel's and not to worry. He texted back "Sure…Laurel's. W/e, just don't do anything stupid."

We had passed stupid a while back. At around 4 some of the guys were seeing who could climb the tallest tree and then jump down to the ground without really hurting themselves. Jared had already lost, with a broken leg, which Jacob assured me would be healed by morning. Quil also had his tongue shoved down Leah's throat which I found slightly disturbing for many reasons but Jacob told me that no one would remember in the morning, and that it had probably happened a dozen times. When I reminded him that not only would I remember this time but that he would too, which ultimately meant the whole pack would remember, he told me to bludgeon him on the head with a rock. We laughed about that until the sky started to turn from black and indigo to a deep red.

By that time, everyone had "fallen asleep" except for Jake and me. So we sat there together in one of those rare, quiet, still, perfect moments as the sun lazily made its way into the sky.

* * *

**Okay, so my posting time was significantly better than last time, I must say. So, this was just a kind of filler chappie… I thought it might be good to take a break from all the action and the *bleh* vampires. Heehee, no offense to all my vamp lovers… :) Please don't stop reading because of that comment :) Oh and sorry for all the fluff… I was just in one of those moods while writing… you know how it goes… :) **

**As always, I must thank my lovely cousin/bestie, Kendall (hufflepuffbrunette247) for helping me out and encouraging me and being a beta reader ish type thing :) For all that she is rewarded only by getting to see my chapters a few hours before I post… how unfair :( I should get her a prize :) Okay, enough babble, thank you for bearing with me and reading thus far :) My readers rock my world :) Especially when they review *hint hint*… constructive criticism is welcome too :) Also sorry if the whole Quil and Leah thing freaked you out… it just seemed like there needed to be someone making out… lolz :) **

**-Shelby (ravenclawblonde) :)**

**Oh and PS- I think I'm gonna start putting what mood music I listened to while writing, just in case anyone was curious :) Here it is: [I didn't use anything for the dinner scene or the Bella talk] **

**-For the bonfire scene- A Certain Romance by Arctic Monkeys (Idk… I just needed a kind of crazy song) **

**-For the sunrise scene (if you can even call it that) - Winter Birds by Ray LaMontagne (Yeh. He's amazing. Just saying. Buy his songs.)**

**Kay bye :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: As we all know, I don't own Twilight or anything affiliated with it in this story EXCEPT for Ellie... yay Ellie! **

* * *

Chapter 8.

I dropped my phone into my purse, left it by the front door and sprinted upstairs to get my umbrella. As I was walking back downstairs, I saw Mike standing protectively by the front door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mike asked sharply. And he had been doing SO well on the suspicion meter…

"Jacob and I are going somewhere…"

"El, you have spent EVERY day with him since that day at La Push… aren't you a little bit tired of him?"

"Nope." I said plainly. "Besides, we're not going to La Push."

"Yeah? You and Jacob's friends going somewhere else? Seriously, it's like you constantly have a pack of guys following you around."

I couldn't help but chuckle mentally at that. It was kind of true, I did have a pack following me around, but not for the reasons Mike thought. I heard Jake pull into the driveway. "Not that it's any of your business, but Jacob is the only guy from La Push going. Now get out of my way," I said, trying to push my way past him.

"I just don't want you to get hurt Ellie," Mike sighed.

"And neither do I," Jake said. The front door had been open which left the screen door between Jacob and Mike. "Are you ready to go Ellie?"

I nodded and glared at Mike a little. I knew he meant the best, and if he knew my real situation he might have a right to act this way, but considering what he knew he was completely overreacting.

"You know you can skip this if you want to," Jake said as we got into the car. I knew he wanted to, but I really felt it would be best if Ava and I could sort things out independently. That way I wouldn't need Jacob at my side twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I was trying hard to see Ava past the vampire who thirsted for my blood, and hopefully she was trying to see me past the body that contained "the nectar of the forbidden fruit" as Edward so reassuringly called it.

"It'll be fine Jake," I reassured him. "Ava's doing better."

"Better my ass," Jake muttered. I decided to leave the subject alone and we rode in relative silence to the Cullens.

* * *

We walked into the Cullen's spacious living room where the TV had a re-run of _Grey's Anatomy_ on.

"Oh! I love this show!" I said. The season had ended, so Jacob hadn't been subjected to it yet, but come September Jacob would have to watch it with me every Thursday.

"So does Ava," Edward pouted.

Ava looked over at me, smiled a little and waved.

"I guess we'll just sit here for now, let Ava get used you, before we start anything," Edward said.

Jacob nodded and we took a seat on the couch.

"I wish you would let Ava speak for herself," Alice complained as she came through the room with many shopping bags in tow.

"Ava doesn't trust herself to speak," Edward shrugged.

"Is that true Ava?" Alice asked.

Ava nodded.

With that we continued to watch the episode. About halfway through Jacob was yawning. I'd seen this one a lot of times so I spent a lot more time looking at and snuggling with Jacob than I did watching the episode. At one of the mushier scenes where Alex and Izzie were talking Jacob made a face, a mixture of disgust and contempt, but I knew he was only playing.

I made a face back at him and Ava giggled, she seemed much more relaxed now than she had when we first came in. I made one at her too and she grinned mischievously before making one back.

The game continued for a while, Ava and I made faces at each other at random intervals until we received an unexpected surprise. A tabby cat ran into the room being chased by a little girl. I guessed she was Renesmee. For some reason, likely the way Jacob said her name, I had always pictured her as looking like some sort of mutant freak, but she was actually pretty cute.

"Hunting practice?" Jacob muttered under his breath.  
"No, we got Renesmee a cat. Just because she's a half vampire doesn't mean she shouldn't have the human experience of owning a pet," Edward said.

The cat ran directly to me for some reason. I started to pet it and it purred. Fingering the collar I saw her name was Poppy.

Ava grabbed at the pad of paper that was sitting beside her and began to write something on it. Then she handed it to Emmett. Emmett laughed.

"Emmett, don't read that," Edward said.

Ava took back the paper and wrote something else on it. When she handed it back to Emmett he nodded.

Renesmee came over to where Jacob and I were sitting. "May I have her?" she asked.

I tried to get her out of my lap, but Poppy was content sitting there. Jacob tried to get her off, but she only hissed at him.

"Sorry, it looks like she's pretty adamant about staying here," I finally said.

Renesmee looked disappointed for a second, but left pretty much unfazed. Emmett went and picked up the notepad Ava had been writing on.

"I do not approve of this," Edward muttered.

"Ava says, 'Don't worry Ellie, I'll eat the cat before I eat you. It's slightly closer and it doesn't even like Renesmee so it's kind of pointless to have it living here."

I laughed. "Aw, I like the cat." She was so sweet, sitting there and purring in my lap.

Ava shrugged.

"Do you want her? I'll give her to you and tell Renesmee she died," Emmett joked.

"You'll do no such thing," Edward said.

"You're right; besides, the squirt would probably want to give her an autopsy anyway."

Jacob smiled at the cat and reached over to pet it. She hissed at him.

"The cat is smarter than some people…I'm surprised," an icy voice laughed. Rosalie walked into the room and chuckled at Jake.

"You know what they call it when a blonde dyes her hair?"Edward had warned me that Jacob might slip and tell a blonde joke. I didn't really mind, but it was sweet of him to refrain himself for my sake.

Rosalie had already left so Jake shouted down the hall. "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE!" Then he realized what he had said. "EXCEPT FOR ELLIE!"

Everyone chuckled at him.

Finally Jake stretched and started to get up.

"You guys have any real food?"

"Yeah, we're trying to get Renesmee to try things, check the pantry," Edward sighed. "Emmett, remind me to go to the store after they leave."

I didn't doubt that Jacob would eat them out of everything they had.

"Okay, you want anything Ellie?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

"Well then I'm gonna go get something to eat. Nobody else better eat anything." He glared at Ava who tried to look innocent.

As soon as Jacob was a gone Emmett got up and pulled me up off the couch. "Go! Go! Go!" he whispered, leading me towards the stairs.

"Go where?" I asked. Was Ava about to snap? She seemed fine when I last saw her. Had Edward given Emmett some kind of signal? I was seriously scared for my life.

"Anywhere: this is operation Joke on Jake." Emmett said, putting me into a room and closing the door.

"Why are we joking on Jacob?" I questioned as Emmett started to leave.

"Because it's fun." He said plainly before shutting the door.

I rolled my eyes. Emmett was just like an overgrown 12 year old. I guess that fit with his bratty little girlfriend.

I decided to go along with the joke for the time being, even though I knew Jacob was going to be LIVID. As soon as I heard him start screaming I planned on leaving.

I crossed my arms and looked around at the room I had been put in.

It was very clean and put together. It almost looked untouched.

The door creaked open and I spun around to look at who it was. My heart skipped a beat as I saw Ava standing there but I managed to calm myself because I knew vampires liked the feel or sound or something of racing blood.

"Is this your room?" I asked, deciding to play it cool for the time being, but at the hint of a thirst for my blood, I was ready to scream.

She nodded and pressed her lips tightly together.

"So… what exactly are they planning on doing to Jacob?" I asked but she put her finger to her mouth and waved me over to listen at the door. It was hard to believe that less than two months ago she had almost killed me and now we were partaking on secret missions together.

I heard footsteps and then heard Jacob's voice, "Where's Ellie?"

"I don't know." Edward said nonchalantly. I could just hear the satisfaction of having one up on Jacob in his voice.

Jacob growled. "What do you mean you don't know."

I bit my lip. I could tell he was starting to freak.

"We must have dozed off while you were gone…" Emmett said casually. Ava snickered at this.

"Well where's Ava? Those two better not be in the same place!" He was borderline rabid. How ironic.

"We just said. We don't know." Edward snapped.

"Are you FREAKING kidding me?!" Jacob roared. "Where the HELL is my girlfriend?!!!"

At this point I had my hand on the doorknob very very close to running downstairs to ease Jacob's obvious pain.

"I leave you alone for TWO seconds and you let her traipse off with a murderous LEECH!"

"Chill! They're upstairs with Carlisle… if anything happens, he'll be there in a nanosecond to stop it." Emmett said.

"I still don't like it. I'd rather be up there with them…" Jacob said his teeth obviously clenched.

"You can't be with her 24/7." Edward scoffed.

"I've managed it so far."

"For the rest of her life?"

"Sure."

My stomach filled with butterflies. Jacob had just kind of hypothetically proposed to me. I felt my cheeks burning and looked at Ava. She was giving me an "Awwww…" look.

I heard Alice's tinkling little voice, "Hey guys! Jacob, can I speak with you privately?"

"Fine." Jacob said bluntly.

I breathed a sigh of relief that THAT ordeal was over with and looked around the room we were in again. I noticed there were some pictures on a desk near the window and I slowly walked over to look at them.

I carefully picked up the first one and fingered the edges. There was a man in the picture, he looked like he was about 30. His blonde hair stood out starkly and vibrantly against his tanned skin and his bright blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

He appeared to be at some sort of party, by the looks of it, a baby shower due to the light pink and baby blue balloons and party décor.

"Is this your husband?"

Ava walked over, picked up a sticky note, then began to rummage through drawers in search of what I was guessing to be some sort of writing utensil.

She finally procured a pencil and started to write, only to have it break.

"Shit." She whispered.

My mouth fell open. "You talked!" I exclaimed.

She nodded then hastily began searching for something else to write with.

"Just say it! I know you can talk now…"

She blew a piece of hair out of her eyes and gave me an exasperated look. "Yes… that's Collin." She whispered then smiled sadly.

"He's handsome." I moved on to the next picture. There was a little girl hanging upside down from a monkey bar, her dark brown hair splayed out below her.

I pointed to her, "Your sister?" I asked skeptically. She seemed way too young to be Ava's sister, but I knew she definitely wasn't her daughter.

"Actually, she's my oldest daughter…" Ava said, proving my theory wrong.

I gaped at her. Hmmm… so maybe Ava wasn't the good girl I thought she was.

"It's not what you think! I'm not a teen pregnancy story, I promise… she's adopted." She smiled.

I grinned and moved on to the third picture. The little girl and Collin were both in it, along with a VERY pregnant Ava. "I'm guessing this baby… is this baby." I said, first pointing to her baby bump and then moving to the final picture of a baby.

"Yes… that's my baby, Abby. She's almost seven months old. She looks like her dad, I think. I've never actually seen her in person…"

I flipped the photo to the back and read the date. "Wow, this is really recent."

She nodded. "Emmett broke into the house and stole them a few weeks ago. It took him a while to find them because they had moved so Collin could be closer to his mother to help with the baby. Emmett is my self-proclaimed 'home-boy.'"

Emmett strolled into the room on command. "You know I am! And hey, look, you're not crying. It's a miracle!"

"Which is why you're only my 'self-proclaimed' home boy."

We all laughed and then I finally managed to squeeze around Emmett to find Jacob.

I walked down the stairs and saw he was standing by the door, obviously ready to go.

I smiled sheepishly at him, I honestly felt really bad about partaking in the little joke.

He shot me a meek smile and slipped his hand into mine.

"Ready to go?" He asked softly. Something was off with him.

I nodded hesitantly. I wouldn't push it until we were alone.

"We're leaving!" Jacob hollered.

Esme and Alice rushed out to send us off and Emmett and Ava and Carlisle waved from the steps.

* * *

When we got home, he faked saying goodbye at the door as usual, then we waited until everyone was asleep to drive to La Push.

Once there, I realized I wasn't tired at all, so I tugged on Jacob's arm to go to the beach.

He hesitated, then let me drag him down to our favorite rock.

The salty air whipped through my hair and the full moon reflected brilliantly on the glassy water.

"Aren't you supposed to howl or something?" I joked, nodding towards the moon.

He grinned weakly but sat down exhaustedly.

I joined him and studied his face intently. "What's wrong? I know it scared the crap out of you when Emmett played that joke on you… and I'm sorry." I rubbed his arm gently, the heat of it tickling my fingers.

"It's not that… well sort of yeah, but that's not the real problem."

"Well what is it?" I rested my head against his shoulder and he wound his arms around me.

"Alice said that… she said it would be a lot safer for you if you didn't hang around me anymore… wolves clog up her visions or whatever… and I think she might be right."

"Don't say that… Jake, everything's okay now. Ava is doing A LOT better. Did you know she even talked today?"

I felt him shake his head.

"Well she did… it was like we were two totally normal people… I'm not in danger anymore… trust me. And even if I was, I wouldn't care because I would rather risk my life than have to stay away from you…"

"That's sweet and all but-"

"No Jacob… no buts. I heard what you said earlier… about staying with me forever if you had to… and, I think I'd like that. So what happened to that Jacob?"

He sighed and kissed the top of my head. "He's right here."

* * *

**Woo, another chappie up! Okay, sooooo yeah. I hope you liked it! Reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :) **

**Thanks to Kendall for heavily "helping" on this chapter ;)**

**-Shelby**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters... I do own Ellie though. **

**Okay, so here's the next chappie... it's kinda a fun one, nothing too menacing happens... but at the end it does get kind of sketch, so you have been forewarned...**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

Chapter 9

"Wake up babe… we're going to the lake…" A deep voice murmured into my ear.

I opened my eyes to blinding sunlight and yanked the covers over my head. Big, warm hands pulled them back down and I felt arms wrap around me, and heat pulsating through me. Jacob nuzzled my neck and started tickling me.

"Jake-no-stop-it-AH!" I gasped between fits of laughter.

"You gotta get up then…" He said, smiling.

"Why?"

"We're going to the lake… I already said that."

"What lake?"

"It's about two hours away. And don't worry… I've already called Mike. He's covering for you."

"Again?" I really owed him. He was going far beyond his brotherly duties by covering my butt every time I slept in at Jacob's or came home late or went somewhere when I was supposed to be coming home.

"Yeah… and listen, I'm sorry El. Really, I am. You were away from your family for 6 years, and now I've made it where you haven't hardly seen them. Now that things seem to be looking up with Ava… I think you should spend some time at home... but for today, you can't miss this. Trust me." And with that, he kissed me on the head and bounded out of my room yelling that I had 15 minutes to get ready.

The two hour car ride was a long one. Especially with 7 teenagers (5 of which were abnormally huge) packed into Leah's mid size SUV.

Leah drove, Quil sat in the passenger seat, Seth, Jacob and I were in the middle, and Embry and Jared were in the back. All the air was focused on me, since I was squished in between two large, searing hot boys. To say I was ready to get in the cool lake when we got there was an understatement.

After we had been driving for about twenty minutes on a dirt road, we reached a small house in the middle of a small clearing in the trees.

We piled out and started trudging towards the house, but Jacob pulled me back.

"I'm gonna go ahead and warn you, we can get a bit… extreme on the water."

I smiled. "I'm used to it by now."

Half an hour later we were all in our suits and loading onto Quil's uncle's ski boat. I eyed the tube attached to the back.

"We're gonna tube?" I whispered to Jared.

"Oh yes. We're gonna tube alright."

I stood there on the dock, wondering what in the world that meant until Jacob picked me up and took me on the boat.

"Sorry… I'm kinda nervous." I murmured to him as he placed me down on a seat then sat down beside me.

"It'll be fine… you don't have to do anything crazy. Leave that to us." He laughed and pulled me to him.

Quil pulled out of the dock and Embry and Jared jumped off the boat and got onto the tube.

"Get ready for this…" Jacob whispered.

All of a sudden the boat shot forward and it felt like we were flying. I knew Quil had to be going over 50 mph and I said a little prayer that no one else would be on the water.

Luckily, I was surprisingly right, and we had the whole, vast blue expanse of water to ourselves. Which we definitely needed.

I quickly learned that when Jacob said 'crazy' he truly meant it. Quil made so many turns and ran through the wake so often that it seemed like every other second either Embry or Jared would fly off. But unlike normal people, when they got jolted into the air, they flipped and landed right back in the tube. It was phenomenal to watch.

After Embry and Jared had been on for 20 minutes, Quil stopped the boat.

"Hey El! You wanna give it a try?" He asked, leaning around the captain's windshield to talk to me and Jacob.

I shook my head fervently. "I really don't think so…"

"C'mon… we'll go easy on you…" He pleaded.

"Who is gonna go with me?"

"Me of course!" Jacob said proudly, jumping up from the seat and diving in the water.

"I'll take that as a yes." Quil said.

I made a pitiful little sound as I looked into the dark water. "Is it cold?" I yelled to Jacob.

"I don't think I can accurately answer that." He joked as he swam over to the boat. "C'mon El!"

I leaned down to test the water's temperature with my fingers but instead Jacob tugged me in.

The water wasn't too bad, a little nippy, but it felt quite refreshing.

When I surfaced I splashed Jacob and pout-swam over to the tube.

"I'm sorry babe." He said as he helped hoist me up. "But you had to get in somehow…"

I got settled and continued to ignore him until Quil started the boat up and I slipped my hand into his.

And then I was truly flying. Through the air. The yank from the initial start had bumped me up at least five feet. I didn't even have time to even scream before a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and together we fell semi-gracefully into the water.

I sputtered as we came back up and blinked until my eyes focused. Jacob was holding me extremely tightly, so tight I was sort of gasping for air.

"Jake-I-can't-breathe-" I managed.

He loosened his grip and looked at me worriedly. "I'm so sorry. So so so sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" I was in a little bit of a shock, but other than that, I was fine. I saw that Quil was turning around and coming back to us.

"I shouldn't have made you do that. I had no idea Quil was going to start that fast."

"Jacob… it's okay. Really. I don't want to do it again, but it's all good."

His eyes grew sad and he nodded as Seth reached over and pulled me in the boat.

"What the hell Quil?" Jacob snapped as soon as he was out of the water.

"Sorry man… my hand sort of slipped…"

"Yeah, 'slipped'." Jacob muttered as he made his way back to where I was seated.

Seth followed him and sat down on the other side of me, fiddling with two of the water guns, interchanging their parts or something.

Embry took the captain's seat and Quil asked Seth to ride with him.

"Maybe on the way back," he muttered, hardly looking up from his work.

Quil looked at Leah pleadingly.

"No," she said very quickly.

"Fine," Quil pouted. He pulled in the tube and I thought we were going to start swimming, but instead he took out what looked like a skate-board minus the wheels.

"Yes!" Jared shouted. "Wakeboarding! I'm next!"

Quil hooked up the rope, and jumped in the water, and strapped the wakeboard to his feet. "Ready to go!" he shouted to Embry who revved up the boat and jammed the accelerator down.

Quil did some flying as well, but his was completely showing off. He did flips in the air while only holding on with one hand, and did all sorts of twists and turns. They were all supernatural gymnasts, but Quil, having a lot of practice, was the best.

While she had declined the tube, Leah rode the wakeboard, and while she wasn't as good as Quil, she managed to look like she had done it before although she had made it well known that she hadn't and she was sure she was going to flip over and that Embry would run over her just for fun. As Leah was going, Quil dove off the front of the boat.

"MAN OVERBOARD!" Jared shouted.

I was scared for a second, but then I remembered that they were nearly indestructible. Embry slowed down the boat a little bit and Quil climbed back on as Leah shouted at him.

As soon as Embry had the boat going fast again Seth had his gun finished up. He stood up on the seat, grinned at Leah, and dove over the edge of the boat, landing in the water and managing to get over to the side before the boat ran over him.

Jared repeated his call and jumped in after him before the boat could slow down. Leah, now enraged, began to cuss Seth out. Embry revved the engine over her.

Finally everyone had had their adrenaline rush and we pulled into a cove to actually swim. I jumped in and noticed the water had gotten a little colder, but that was soon solved when Jacob plunged in after me and I was able to swim as close to him as I could.

"Hey ladies!" Embry shouted to the shore. I looked over and saw that two girls were standing on the beach looking at us like we were crazy.

Leah waved and elbowed Jacob. "Don't be rude… aren't you going to say hi?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, why was she acting like that?

Jacob looked at the water and threw up one hand.

"Eye contact is part of basic manners Jacob…" She said in a matter of factly tone.

He narrowed his eyes at her and turned his back on the beach. Once we had swam out of earshot of Leah I whispered, "What was that all about?"

"Nothing," he muttered.

I looked up to see the girls walking away. "They're gone," I whispered. Maybe he would stop acting so strangely.

He shot a glare at Leah and she shrugged. Seth swam over to us, his water gun in tow. "You want me to get her?" he asked.

"With that?" Jacob asked skeptically.

"Yeah, I rigged it myself. You want me to test it on Leah?"

"Sure," Jacob said.

Seth grinned wickedly and took aim. Leah was turned around, she playfully whapped Quil on the head with a pool noodle for some unknown reason. A stream of water shot out of his gun nearly as fast as the tube shot out from under me when I was on it.

Leah screeched as the water hit her. "SETH!!!!"

Seth laughed and bolted for the other side of the boat. She chased after him. I heard the spray of water and assumed that Seth was taking offense now.

"TUBE WRESTLING!!!" Jared shouted, scrambling onto the boat and throwing the tube overboard. It landed upside down, the flat bottom exposed. "First match, Seth and Leah! A brother, sister face off!"

Seth and Leah climbed on the tube, stood up, and grabbed each others' shoulders.

"Come on Ellie, this won't be pretty," Jacob said. We swam over to the boat and climbed on board, watching from the back of the boat.

"Ready…set…_BEEP_!" Jared blew the air horn and the match began. Seth's youngness and Leah's size, relative to the boys that was, made them an even match and after a long wrestling match Leah managed to shove Seth off the side, but not without Seth being able to drag her off with him.

"It's okay Seth, I'll avenge you," Quil said, pulling in the tube until it was about fifteen feet from the boat and leapt onto it.

Leah reluctantly agreed to the match and climbed back on.

"Don't worry Leah, I'll go easy on you," he smirked.

When they were face to face, or as close to face to face as they could get considering Quil's hugeness, the match began and even though Quil let Leah have the first shove he totally dominated the match and Leah was off within ten seconds.

Next up were Jacob and Jared. Jacob gave Jared a swift shove and he was off the tube before the blast of the air horn had finished. After that Jacob faced Embry and he was also conquered. Last up were Quil and Jacob. The air horn blasted and they simultaneously shoved each other so that it seemed nothing had happened. They stood like this for a while until Quil flipped Jacob over. Jacob used his momentum to roll over and put Quil on the bottom position. Quil groaned as Jacob sat on his chest, trying to push him off without letting him up. Finally Quil managed to push Jacob up from under him, but Jacob jumped up and did a flip in the air before landing back on the tube. While Quil was still staring in astonishment, Jacob took the opportunity to push Quil off the tube.

"THE WINNER!" Jared shouted.

"I claim my prize," Jacob beamed, pulling the rope over to the boat and offering me his hand.

"My hero," I grinned, taking his hand. I stepped onto the tube and immediately wobbled. I didn't understand how they managed to stand, much less wrestle on this thing.

"I've got you," he said, wrapping his arms around my waist. Yes, this was much more steady.

Leah mimed vomiting while stealthily handing Seth his water gun. Seth leaned over the side and filled it up.

"Seth…" I started, but it was too late. Seth jumped to his feet and the water suddenly appeared beside me as he shot Jacob with the water gun.

"OW!" Jacob shouted, rubbing the main spot on his chest where Seth had hit him. "I'M GONNA GET YOU, YOU LITTLE PUNK!" he shouted. Seth dove onto the tube only to be promptly shoved off by Jacob. Of course, I landed on my butt in the process, but I was safe.

Seth used the opportunity to flip over the tube and we finally fell into the water.

"You better not have killed Ellie!" Jacob shouted.

"If you did you'll have to sleep outside the funeral home for a month to make sure the leech doesn't get at her!" Quil laughed.

After I assured Jacob that I was indeed alive, and Jacob had gotten a good whack at Seth, we got back on the boat.

By this time Embry and Leah were complaining about how hungry we were and Quil decided it was time to call it a day.

* * *

After dinner I headed to mine and Leah's room to unpack the bag that Jacob had collected from my house, but stopped at the door to hear whispering. I got closer to the door and heard that it was Jacob and Leah. Again.

"The stakes are tripled… this isn't fair to her." Leah whispered angrily.

"You just like making people upset…"

I took a few steps away from the door. I had to know what was going on… but I would ask later. So I went to Jacob and Seth's room and waited for him.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later he walked in and looked startled as he saw me. "Ellie! I was wondering where you went…"

"Well here I am…"

He gave me a meek smile and instead of sitting down on the bed beside me, he sat in the chair at the desk.

I stretched out on his bed like a cat and looked over at him intently. He looked lost… his eyes staring out the window without actually registering anything. His broad hands ran through his hair and he closed his eyes slowly.

I shivered. It was strange seeing him like this. Sure, I had seen him distraught, angry, vengeful even, but never this hopeless.

"Are you cold?" He asked, glancing over at me, then letting his eyes slide back to the open window for a second.

I nodded, even though I wasn't. I knew he wouldn't even touch the window.

Following my exact train of thought he got up and gathered me in his arms gently. Immediate warmth pulsed through me, making me feel as if I was melting. I wound my arms around him and kissed his neck softly.

"It'll be okay…" I whispered, not even knowing if it would.

He pulled me closer and rested his chin on my head. "I don't want to lose you…" He said quietly.

Whatever he and Leah had been talking about was serious. I knew questioning him would just make it worse. "You worry too much…" I said, looking up into his eyes. "Why can't you just forget whatever is bothering you and be here. In this moment. Right now. With me. It's absolutely perfect…" I trailed my fingertips across his jaw line and studied his face. I could tell he was trying to look as if he was happy… as if nothing was wrong. And for the most part it was working… but his eyes. His chestnut colored eyes were deeply threaded with torment. "Jacob…" I whispered breathlessly. I wanted him to tell me what was wrong, what they had been talking about, yet at the same time I didn't want to hear it.

He closed his eyes and brought my hand to his cheek. When he dropped his hand, I let mine linger on his searing face for a minute, then snaked my arms around his neck.

He opened his eyes and placed his hands on my waist. The heat of them burned through my t-shirt but I did nothing. We just sat there, looking into each other's eyes. I felt like I was seeing into the deepest darkest crevice in the world. The dark brown of his eyes was endless… and I felt like I was falling into it. Gradually, the pain disappeared from his eyes and longing replaced it.

He gently kissed me and rested his forehead on mine. I straddled him and ran my hands down his tanned, toned arms. I peeled his thin shirt over his head and he pressed his lips against mine again, this time fervently. He pulled me closely against him… but it wasn't close enough. I wanted more from him. He lifted my hair up and ran his lips over the nape of my neck. My breathing was shallow and I felt a million different things at once pulsing through my body.

His hands ran up my back, making me shiver. His lips found mine once more and we kissed until I was breathless, passion pouring from each of us into the other. I didn't feel like a single being anymore. We were one… my skin felt fused to his, my thoughts ran effortlessly into his, my desires matched his exactly. I felt past the point of no return. As if there was no coming back from this. The regular world seemed millions of miles away, like Jacob and I were our own planet… and everything revolved around us. He ran his hands under my shirt, my back blazing with the heat of them, and I slid my shirt over my head. I reached for the button on my jeans and his hands steadied mine.

I opened my eyes and looked into his. "Are you sure?" He asked in a husky but sweet whisper.

I pondered this straightforward question. My body was screaming, "YES!" and I'm pretty sure his was too. But was I sure? My mind knew the answer. Plain and simple. But all I could do was look at him.

He slowed his breathing down and cupped my face in his hands. "Ellie… let's wait. I want it to be special. Not in this tiny bedroom, on my tiny bed, in the same house the pack is in. I know you want to wait too… and you're worth every minute of it… no matter how much I want it… and believe me, I want it. Just… let's make it amazing. When the time is right…"

I smiled at him as tears spilled down my cheeks. I loved him. I loved Jacob Black. For saying what I couldn't. For being my protector and greatest challenge at the same time. For his goofy smile and the huge, tanned body that seemed to swallow me up at times. For the undying heat that radiated from him and made me want to walk outside in below freezing weather without a jacket, just so I could be in his arms for a second more. For the times he listened. For the times he talked my ear off. For knowing my greatest fears and wishes and sharing them with me. For being everything I needed him to be and more.

* * *

**Cheesy, I know... :) **

**Well that was fun to write, I'm at my lake house right now so this chapter just came natural... welllllllll thanks to my cousin, Kendall for helping me again... and nagging me. A LOT. And of course thanks to my lovely readers :) **

**Please please please review... it lights up my day when you do :)**

**-Shelby**


	10. Chapter 10

Hi readers! Well... I guess I'm sorry doesn't cover it. It's been quite a while since I've posted, but my senior year has been hectic to say the least! Hopefully, I shall be posting on a more regular basis from now on so enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 10.

I scribbled down what we needed from the store on the notepad, tore off the sheet, and shoved it in my purse. Mom and I had picked the right day to have mother/daughter bonding time. It was raining cats and dogs outside and we were going to make a delicious meal for Dad and Mike. I especially owed Mike for covering my butt so many times, so I included many of his favorites on the menu.

"Come on Ellie! The rain is letting up!" Mom called.

I grabbed my raincoat and ran after her. The drive was pleasant, we talked about what I had been doing with Jacob this summer…to a certain extent at least. Mom seemed to like Jake, which was good, especially since he hung out at my house pretty often. After we had come back from the lake, Jacob had demanded I spend some time with my family.

Before we went to the grocery store we went to Dowlings. Mom said that Dad had wanted her to pick up some oil for the car. Unfortunately, the downpour had started again and we had to run in to avoid being soaked completely.

As soon as we walked in I knew. Something was strange, almost sinister in the air, and then I looked over and saw her, leaning against the wall, staring at me. My heart started pounding and I willed it to slow back down. I felt incredibly vulnerable in that moment and I feared not only for myself, but also for my mom. I had no idea if Ava would crave my mother's blood because she was related to me. I knew that Jacob wasn't here to save me should something go wrong. Still, I couldn't go back outside. It was pouring, and I couldn't make Mom leave without seeming conspicuous, so I simply held my breath, looked away, and hoped it would be okay.

My hand reached into my pocket so I could pull out my phone and text Jacob, but then I saw Rosalie, looking through car parts. She glanced at Ava and I a few times before going back to her search. While Rosalie wasn't my favorite vampire, I did trust that she would try to protect me should Ava attack. Still, I typed a quick text message to Jacob and hoped he would get it in time. I could almost feel her gaze drilling into me as I followed Mom, looking for the oil.

I finally looked back at her, trying to discern her which shade of red defined her hunger and decide whether or not it would be worth it to bolt out and cause a panic. And then I noticed it… her eyes weren't red. They were brown.

I cocked my head and her mouth curved into a smile. I returned it, followed Mom to the checkout, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Mom asked as she waited for her change.

"Totally fine." And I was. Ava was restraining herself. I was spending time with my mom… no one had died yet… everything was dandy. Except one thing. Jacob wasn't there.

"ELLIE!" I heard someone yell. Mom looked at me questioningly.

Then he came bounding around the corner of the tire lube aisle. He pulled me briskly into his arms and held me tightly.

His heart was pounding furiously in his chest and his skin seemed hotter than usual.

"Jacob, I'm fine…" I murmured.

He pulled away and looked at me intently. I raised my eyebrows in a show of how fine I was and caught my mother's expression out of the corner of my eye.

I slowly turned to face her and gave a sheepish smile. She looked like she had just seen a toddler run the 100 m dash in 5 seconds.

"Um, hi Mrs. Newton. I was just… uh… can I talk to Ellie really quick?"

Mom gave a slight nod and Jacob guided me out of earshot.

"Is she still here?"

Just then I heard the bell above the door jingle and looked over at it. "She's just leaving with Rosalie."

Jacob whipped around and sprinted out the door. I scurried after and when I got outside, I saw that Jacob had Rosalie by the arm and was yelling at her.

"Why in the hell would you take her in PUBLIC?!"

"You had better let go of me, mongrel; if she goes off and I can't hold her back it'll be your fault." Rosalie whispered harshly.

Jacob looked fierce, but dropped her arm.

I ran over and tugged on his arm to back away. "Jake… you're causing a scene…" I said softly.

He was breathing heavily and still shooting daggers at Rosalie with his eyes, but he wrapped me in his arms and turned away.

Peeking out from beneath his arm, I saw Rosalie spit in our direction before ushering Ava into her car. Ava looked beyond shaken up. After they pulled away, I looked up at Jacob and placed my hand on Jacob's searing cheek.

He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead to mine. "Are you okay?" He whispered.

"Yes." I said softly. He had been really and truly scared for my life. "False alarm." I murmured, trying to lighten the mood.

He didn't smile, but instead opened his eyes and slid his hand into mine.

I glanced in the store and saw my mom making her way to the door. When she came outside she walked over to us and started looking back and forth between me and Jacob.

"Well… Jacob, how would you like to come to dinner at the Newton house?" Mom asked slowly, probably still unsure about what had just unfolded.

"I would love to."

* * *

When we walked in the door of my house, Janie, Mike's girlfriend, ran into the hallway and enveloped my mother in a hug.

"Mrs. Newton!" She exclaimed, way too enthusiastic for my taste.

I honestly could not stand Janie. Not one bit. She was "perfect" in every way, model's body, straight A's, captain of the volleyball team at USC, impeccable manners. But there was a side to her that only I caught. She was a malicious little bitch, and sometimes I just wanted to rip off her velvet headband and toss her in a ravine.

I had no clue why Mike was dating her. He might be obnoxious and stupid at times, but he could do A LOT better. Not that my parents would ever catch onto it. Now that I think about it, her little backhanded viciousness is probably exactly what Mike liked about her. That, and the fact that she was a trophy for him to show off.

"Hi, Ellie dear…" Janie said in the fakest syrupy sweet voice I had ever heard as she double kissed my cheeks. I didn't even try to reciprocate her front. We had long ago established our mutual hated of each other, and I had nothing to hide.

When she pulled back from me, she looked Jacob up and down. "And who is this?" She said in an evil temptress sort of way.

"MY boyfriend." I snapped before dragging him into the kitchen. That girl had better watch her back.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in…" Mike muttered when Jacob and I walked in the kitchen.

"I could say the same…"

* * *

Once everyone was seated and had begun eating, the fun started.

"Margot dear, you didn't tell me that we were going to be having a triple date tonight," Dad grinned as he speared an asparagus with his fork.

"Well I didn't know either… it's a good thing we picked up Jacob before we went to the store."

Jacob smiled sheepishly.

"Jacob, would you like some of my homemade dinner rolls?" Janie asked with a wink.

I glared at her through narrowed eyes, but she merely smiled innocently.

Jacob reached out to grab one, but I stomped on his foot. A wave of realization passed over his face. "Ohhhh… um, no thanks. Ellie's got me covered." He said firmly. I patted his cheek and placed a roll on his plate.

"He likes mine better." I said with a sly smile.

"I'll take one of yours." Mike said briskly. Janie sat back in her chair, arms folded across her chest.

"Really children, they're all the same…" Mom said, spooning more potatoes onto her plate.

"Well, I'm gonna have a bunch of good looking grandchildren with this bunch here…" Dad said loudly.

Everyone froze. I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw that Jake was midway to his mouth with a spoonful of potatoes.

"Uhhh… wow Dad." Mike said slowly.

"Well, not anytime soon of course… right Ellie?"

"What about _her_?" I snapped, nodding towards Janie.

My parents laughed. "Really El? Can you even imagine Janie getting pregnant?" Mom said.

I dropped my fork, and it clanged loudly on my plate.

"What are you saying about me?"

"Nothing dear, just making sure." Dad said quickly.

No one said anything for a few minutes.

"I don't think you're giving Ellie enough credit… I'm sure she and Jacob make sure to be safe." Janie said lightly.

I picked up my knife and clenched it in my fist. Jacob took the knife away and rubbed my back.

"Well… I'm going to go get some more iced tea…" Mom said, getting up and walking into the kitchen.

"I'll go with you…" Dad mumbled.

Once they were gone, I turned towards Janie. "Why yes, Janie dear, we ARE responsible. Because unlike SOME people at this table, I'm a virgin." I spat.

"Number one: with that hunk of meat as your boyfriend, I don't think so. He's gotta be, what, at least 20, you've got to be giving something on the other end. I can just imagine the stuff he's capable of with _that_ body…"

"Excuse me!" Mike screeched.

Janie waved him off and continued. "Number two: how could you possibly know that I'm NOT a virgin."

"Addressing the first issue, you better back off bitch, keep your eyes on your own man. And second, these walls are VERY thin."

Janie's mouth dropped open just as my parents came back in.

"So, how's everyone doing?" Dad asked chipperly.

I stared down Janie before pulling Jacob to his feet. "We're leaving. Dinner was great Mom."

"But… but…" Mom stuttered.

"Jacob has to get home. Oh, and I'm staying at Laurel's tonight. Bye everyone. Have a nice night Janie, oh and watch out when walking to your car, I've heard there are wolves around these parts… I would hate for you to get eaten…" I tilted my head and smiled innocently.

* * *

Once we were out of there and in my car, Jacob turned to me.

"I'm not eating her."

"That's alright… you just need to maim her beyond recognition. If you don't do it, I'm sure Quil would be happy to… he's been a bit… frisky lately."

"I'm going to ignore that comment."

* * *

I walked in the door of the Black house and let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey sweetie!" Sue said, hugging me and giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi Sue…" I smiled. Now this felt like home.

"How was dinner?" She asked, giving Jacob a kiss, then rubbing the lipstick off with her finger.

"Ummmm…" Jacob trailed off, giving me a sideways glance.

"Absolutely terrible." I admitted.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here for the night… as always." Sue said sincerely. "Although, Jacob did say he was going to stop abducting you from your family."

"Trust me, I have had quite enough of my family for at least tonight."

"Well, I'm headed to bed… you two don't stay up late." Sue smiled and flicked the lights off so that just the soft lamp light filled the room.

Jacob sat down on the couch and pulled me into this lap.

I nuzzled into his chest and let his heat radiate through me.

"I'm sorry that was such a mess…" I whispered.

"I actually enjoyed it." He laughed softly.

"Janie just… I can't stand her."

"Really? I was definitely getting a bff vibe from you two."

I giggled and smacked him.

"Her attitude really was atrocious though." I said.

"I thought some of what she said was actually very truthful. Like how you have a studly boyfriend."

I laughed. "True…"

He kissed me and looked into my eyes, but didn't say anything.

"It feels good to be home." I whispered.

* * *

**I hope you liked it :) Please review or PM me :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey readers! So just a few diclaimers, 1. I don't own Twilight or any of the characters... except Ellie. 2. I don't own Advil... well, I own Advil, but I don't OWN the company. Yeah. ENJOY!**

* * *

Chapter 11.

Jacob and I were perched upon a ledge outside of my parents' outdoor store eating popsicles from the freezer inside. They were melting fast so I had resorted to biting into it. Jacob had given up long ago, the cold of the popsicle was no match for the 108 degrees that his body was emitting, so he was now a sticky mess and seemed to be spending more time licking his fingers than the actual popsicle.

He leaped off the wall and hosed off his hands, then sat back down beside me.

I slid the last hunk of popsicle into my mouth and grimaced in pain as my head started to ache. "Brain freeze…" I said, seeing Jacob's alarmed face.

"Hold still." He whispered, putting his warm hands on either side of my head. He used his thumbs to massage my temples gently. Before I knew it, my head stopped hurting.

He stopped and kissed me softly. "Better?"

"Much."

* * *

We were walking through the streets of downtown Forks hand in hand later that day when a gaggle of middle school girls exited a shop, giggling and clutching a book with a fierce looking wolf on the front… The Hailfire series. I had read them, but really hadn't gotten that into them. They were sweeping across the nation like an actual fire. The basic storyline was about a pack of werewolves in England. The leader, Lawrence, falls in love with a mortal and ends up being all conflicted and such. Way too cliché for my taste. Plus, when you experienced life with a real werewolf, nothing could compare.

They turned to us and squealed, then ran off.

"What the hell…" Jacob murmured.

I laughed. "They're crazy about a fictional character, Lawrence. He's a werewolf." I said werewolf with a hint of mystery.

"Oh please…"

"Really, he's quite irresistible."

"I want to see these books."

* * *

An hour later we were in Jacob's room and he was flipping through my copy of Hailfire.

"This is total bullshit. Like wow… this is all wrong. And this Lawrence guy is a complete tool."

"I think he's quite alluring…"

Jacob looked at me pitifully.

"But… I would much rather have my real wolf any day." I wrapped my arms around him. "Plus… I can't do this to Lawrence…" I kissed his collarbone lightly, then his neck, then his jaw, then finally his lips.

He pushed my hair back from my face and smiled. "If Lawrence were to ever make a move on you, I'd kick his ass back to England."

* * *

Jacob grumbled all the way to the Cullens house. He was still pissed that they had shown up in public with Ava in tow. That, and he was mad that Stacy Moore had gotten all the wolf lore wrong and that even on the res there were twelve year old girls drooling over the series. Therefore, I didn't expect today's session to be too much fun, not that going into a room and risking my life ever was, but it was necessary for me to stay in Forks.

I put my hand over his as he parked in their driveway. "Remember Jacob, I'm okay. What's done is done."

He was getting really worked up and it scared me. "Let me take care of this El," he said, getting out of the car and slamming the door loudly. I jumped out after him and practically had to jog to keep up.

"Hello, Jacob, we heard you coming," Esme said opening the door. "Nice to see you again Ellie, we're just about ready. Why don't you come on in and have a seat?"

We walked in and I felt Jacob's grip on my hand tighten. I looked up at him and saw he was positively fuming.

_Don't do something stupid. Don't do something stupid._ I willed him.

"Edward! Why the hell was _she _out in public a couple of days ago?! She's a freaking newborn and you send her and the sadistic blonde on an outing to the hardware store!"

"Actually Jacob, I evaluated Ava, and she seemed perfectly fit to go out, she has actually done quite well with her transformation." Carlisle said calmly.

"Oh yeah, she only almost killed Ellie TWICE. She's doing GREAT. She's still bloody dangerous."

He gripped my hand to where it started to hurt. I let out a little gasp of pain. "Too tight Jake…" I whispered and placed my other hand on his arm.

"Well it looks like you're a little bit dangerous too…" Edward said snidely.

"Shut up leech." Jacob said through clenched teeth.

"Jacob could never hurt me… That was barely anything Edward." I snapped.

"Well, no matter how much I would love to see an all out brawl in the parlor, I think we should start our little lesson." Emmett said, putting his arm around me and leading me into the living room. Jacob growled.

"Easy boy…" Emmett said with a smiled.

I sat down on the couch with Emmett on one side of me and Jacob on the other.

We all sat there kind of awkwardly for a moment before Carlisle finally stepped forward. "Well… since Ava has improved dramatically, I think that we should try some activities without Jacob present. Ava can never trust herself properly if you don't show that you trust her…"

"But I don't trust her." Jacob said waspishly.

I ran my hand down his arm. "Please Jake…" I whispered. He didn't move.

Edward stood up. "You need to leave Jacob."

Jacob stood up, only to walk over to get in Edward's face. "No."

"Well, I can see there's no convincing you… I guess we'll just have to escort you out…" Edward said, moving to grab Jacob by the arm.

"Get your hands off me." Jacob snarled. I stood up and joined Jacob's side.

"Jacob… please just leave." I pleaded.

"No… because unlike the bloodsucker, I don't leave the ones I love."

It seemed like a blur, first Edward reeling back to punch Jacob, then a low growl ran through Jacob before he leaped forward and turned.

I cried out as Jacob's claw caught my arm and tore through the skin from my shoulder to my elbow.

And then a bunch of things all happened at once.

I saw Ava's bloodthirsty eyes catch me and she lunged forward. Emmett caught her and pinned her to the floor. Alice pulled Jasper and Bella out of the room, and Esme ran to Edward and Jacob to break them up. Carlisle ran to me and took off his sweater to hold against my arm. Esme walked out of the room, literally holding Edward back from lunging at Jacob again.

Tears streamed down my face at the incredible pain that tore through me.

Emmett wrestled Ava outside and Esme came scurrying back in to help Carlisle.

"Go get my bag." Carlisle said quickly.

Esme came back less than 10 seconds later, and Carlisle began to sew me up.

I couldn't watch that, so I finally looked up and saw him. Jacob was standing there, whimpering. He padded across the floor and nudged me with his giant russet head.

I wound my free hand through his fur and rested my head on his side. I flinched in pain as Carlisle tied the stitch off and Jacob whimpered again.

I looked into his golden eyes and saw absolute terror and grief.

"It's alright… you didn't mean to." I whispered into his fur.

* * *

Half an hour later, Carlisle had me loaded into Jacob's car and everyone was back in the house except for Ava and Emmett.

"Thank you…" I said softly as Carlisle buckled me in.

"Of course dear…" He smiled and placed an icy hand on my cheek before closing the door.

I looked all around for Jacob but couldn't see him. A few minutes later he emerged from the house, clothed in Emmett's clothing and looking at his feet.

He got in and shut the door softly.

"Jacob…"

"I…I can't…I can't look at you. At what I've done to you." He said quietly before starting the car.

Once we were at the res he parked the car in the beach lot. I unbuckled and slid over to him, placing my hand gently on his blazing cheek.

He turned away and let his hands slide off the steering wheel.

"Jacob Black… look at me."

He unbuckled and started to get out of the car but I reached around him and closed the door.

"Jacob… please. I'm fine. Honestly. But I won't be fine if you never look at me again."

As he turned to face me, I saw he looked tortured. His features were dark, almost unrecognizable.

I grabbed his hand and brought it to my lips, gently kissing it.

Wincing, he closed his eyes and I saw a tear roll down his face.

I wiped it away and crawled into his lap.

"What if you had ended up like Emily?" He breathed raggedly.

"Then I would still love you. You would still be my protector. My guardian. My _everything_. Please don't be upset."

He opened his eyes and swiftly kissed me. I lay my head against his chest and he trailed his finger along the gash on my arm.

Burying my face into him, I breathed in deeply, expecting to smell his familiar, warm, spicy scent. Instead I was overwhelmed with sickly sweet Emmett scent.

"You smell terrible."

"I know."

* * *

When we walked into the Black's house, everyone was waiting for us. Apparently, Carlisle had already called and explained what happened.

Sue ran forward and enveloped me in a hug before ushering me to the couch and providing me with lots of pillows.

Jacob stayed in the kitchen, looking at me sadly. Sam came to Jacob's side and led him outside.

Once everyone was assured I was fine, they began dispersing to their own houses, till only Sue, Billy, and Emily were left- Jacob and Sam had still not returned.

Emily came over and sat down next to me.

"Does it hurt?" she asked quietly, tenderly fingering my wound.

"Not too bad… not as bad as seeing Jacob's face afterwards did."

"I know. And he will NEVER fully forgive himself. You are more precious to him than anything else. And he harmed that. All you can do is be patient with him. Be patient and let him know you love him."

I nodded solemnly.

"It'll get better… I promise." She squeezed my hand.

Just then, the front door opened and Sam and Jacob reappeared. Jacob had apparently shucked Emmett's clothes for a pair of gym shorts.

Emily got up and met Sam, who nuzzled her bad cheek.

"We have to get home…" Sam said gently. "I'll see you tomorrow Jake."

Emily waved at me as she was pulled out the door.

Sue and Billy looked between me and Jacob before going down the hall to their bedroom.

There wasn't a sound to be heard apart from the clock on the wall.

Jacob riled around in the kitchen for a minute before emerging into the living room with a glass of water.

"I brought you some Advil…" He said softly, sitting down beside me and dropping the pills in my hand.

"Thanks." I said smiling.

Once I had taken the medicine, we sat there for a few minutes not saying anything.

"I'm… I'm sorry Ellie."

"I know… and you are forgiven a million times. Just so we can skip any further apologies…"

He grinned halfheartedly.

I stroked the back of his hand and he gathered me in his arms.

"I love you." He murmured into my hair.

"Mmmm…"

"I'm never gonna let anything happen to you ever again."

I laughed. "Now that wouldn't be much fun now would it?"

* * *

Jacob rang the doorbell and tapped his fingers on his leg until a shadow appeared before the glass.

The door opened and Mike was standing there.

He didn't say anything but instead looked disapprovingly at Jacob.

"Uh… Ellie had an accident." Jacob muttered.

Mike looked utterly confused until he spotted my arm. "Oh my God! What happened?" He pulled me into the house, leaving Jacob standing guiltily at the door. "Mom!"

Mom rushed out from the kitchen and immediately started fretting over me. "What happened sweetie?"

I paused… I hadn't even thought of a story to tell.

Jacob stepped forward. "We were swimming in the ocean, and a wave caught Ellie. A rock caught her arm and…"

I looked at him gratefully and nodded.

"Where did you get stitched up?" Mike asked suspiciously, eyeing Jacob.

"Uh… we went to the hospital."

"Well, thank you for taking care of her Jacob… we've got her now." Mom said sincerely.

"Um, yes ma'am." Jacob kissed me on the forehead and shuffled out the door, probably going to crawl in my window and wait for me.

"Ellie, you should probably go to bed… Get some rest. But yell if you need anything." Mom said, kissing me goodnight, then going back into the kitchen.

As I started up the stairs, Mike grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

"Did he hurt you?" He hissed.

"No! Stop being stupid!" I whispered harshly, pulling my arm away.

"I'm just worried about you… you're different."

"Well that's what happens when you fall in love."

I left him standing there, mouth gaping, and went upstairs to Jacob.

* * *

**Hi! Hope you enjoyed! PLEASE review... I would love some feedback, positive or negative :)**

**-Shelby**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi readers! Well I still don't own the characters... except Ellie. **

* * *

Chapter 12

I woke up super early the next morning… before the sun was even up. I slipped out of Jacob's big warm arms and got dressed. He was knocked out cold, probably from having such an exhausting day yesterday.

When I was finished getting ready I sat down on the bed beside Jacob and watched him sleep for a while. In his sleep he lost all of his big manly virility and looked instead like a little boy.

I placed my hand on his cheek and let the warmth of his face melt through to me. He stirred a little and pulled me back into his arms.

"Jake… my Dad will be up soon." I whispered, stroking his hair back from his face.

"Mmmm…"

"C'mon sleepy… La Push awaits."

* * *

Once we arrived, Sam and the rest of the pack immediately swept Jacob away for a run.

"Are you gonna be alright?" He whispered into my hair.

"Of course."

"Jacob, you don't need to be with her all the time…" Billy said, scooting him out the door.

Jacob looked back pitifully before shutting the door.

"You've really gotten to my son…" Billy said gruffly, wheeling over to the refrigerator.

"You think?" I said thoughtfully, leaning against the counter.

"I _know_." He said plainly.

"Well, he's really gotten to me too…"

"I'm glad. After Bella massacred his heart and soul I thought he would never be happy again… and well, Jacob's my boy… I couldn't stand seeing him so broken up."

I looked down and nodded. "Billy, I could never EVER hurt him… I feel like my happiness is connected to his. I just… I wonder if I'm what he needs right now."

Billy wheeled over to me and grabbed my hand. "Darlin', you're exactly what he needs."

I grinned and squeezed his hand. "I don't know if this is too forward but… I can honestly see myself with him the rest of my life. No one else fits."

"Well, you're certainly welcome in the family." He smiled.

Just then came a knock on the door.

"Well that can't be anyone from the res… they would all just come right on in…" Billy said slowly, wheeling to get the door.

When it swung open I saw Esme Cullen standing there with a vase of flowers and a tin in her hands.

"I'm terribly sorry for showing up unannounced…" She said genuinely, holding out the flowers to me.

I took them and inhaled their freshness.

"These are cookies… I just baked them…" She said, handing them to Billy.

"Well come on in!" Billy exclaimed.

Once inside she gave me a huge hug, and pulled back to look at me. "Are you doing okay sweetie?"

I nodded with a smile.

"I am so sorry for what happened yesterday. Edward feels horrible about it."

I highly doubted that.

"Mr. Black, would you mind if I had a word with Ellie?"

"Not at all!" Billy said, taking the tin of cookies and wheeling into his bedroom.

She led me to the couch and we sat down.

"Ellie, I just wanted to let you know how happy we all are that Jacob has found you… I love Bella to pieces, but I will admit, her treatment of him was not at all acceptable."

"So I've heard."

"I think she just… tried to get over Edward and it went horribly wrong. She could never get over him…. Imagine if Jacob left and you found someone else… but then Jacob came back… that's the best way I can think to explain it."

"Well, first off, Jacob would never leave. Ever. I know that for a fact. Second, there could never be anyone but Jacob. I wouldn't even try to look. It's just him. It always will be."

She smiled and looked at her hands. "I'm glad you said that… if everyone on earth could experience what you have I think the world would be a perfect place."

She slid her icy hand into mine and I returned her smile.

Jacob burst through the front door. "I knew I smelled leech!" He yelled, bounding over to us, and gathering me in his arms.

"It's fine Jacob…" I said rolling my eyes at Esme.

She laughed and stood up. "I was actually just leaving. It was nice talking to you Ellie…. Take care of her, Jacob." Esme placed a hand on his cheek then walked gracefully out the door.

"She's a good woman…" I said.

"I know… and I hate her for it." He grumbled.

The door swung open and Embry and Paul came running in.

"It's Quil… he's hurt…" They gasped between breaths.

Jacob looked at me with a terrified expression before bolting out of the door.

A few minutes later, Jacob and Jared were carrying Quil in. He looked pretty bloodied up, but he was smiling.

"That was a vicious bear…" He laughed.

The boys placed him on the couch and crowded around him.

* * *

I learned that Quil had come upon a black bear that was actually lurking in the Black's back yard. He said he didn't seem like he was hungry, but when Quil tried to chase him back into the woods, he put up a nasty fight. Needless to say, Quil was healed fully by the next morning. Unfortunately, the bear seemed to be too.

"Damn relentless bear." Quil muttered.

We were all standing on the Black's back step and watching the bear just stand in the yard. Eventually, it started to move forward, towards us. It stopped about five feet away and just looked at us. Well, looked at me, really. It was literally staring me down, in fact.

"I don't like this…" Jacob said slowly, pulling me back inside.

"Why was it doing that?" I asked.

Embry opened his mouth to speak, but Jacob signaled him to shut up.

"What?!" I asked, now getting irritated that information was being withheld from me.

Quil pushed Jacob aside and sat down beside me.

"Legend says that a black bear is a bad omen. And that if he stares at you, he is predicting death…"

My heart started to beat frantically. "D-Death…"

Jacob shoved Quil to the floor. "Don't worry Ellie, nothing can happen to you as long as I'm around…"

* * *

Dinner was quiet for once, Quil had told everyone what happened and everyone was now looking at me strangely.

As I was helping clean up, I saw Leah pull Jacob aside. Out of the corner of my eye I saw them arguing. I turned back to the sink and tried to catch what they were saying, but instead heard the front door slam.

Wiping off my hands, I sighed and closed my eyes. Why did Leah keep provoking him?

I contemplated whether or not to go after him. In my flurry of thoughts, I found myself walking outside and following Jacob out to the beach.

The sky was clear, and the moon was bright and full. He was standing there, just looking out over the water.

As I approached, he didn't turn to look at me, but instead said, "Ellie… run away with me."

I smiled thoughtfully and slid my hand in his. "Since when have you been one to run away from your problems?"

He smiled halfheartedly. "Never… but why is this so damn hard?"

"I don't know… but the best things in life usually are." I held onto his arm and leaned my head against its smooth, tanned, heat.

* * *

**Well I hope you enjoyed! I'm nearing the end of the story, and I'm starting to get excited, so as you know, I've been posting very regularly... hopefully I can keep up, but I won't be posting tomorrow for I will be at the NC State/UNC football game... GO WOLFPACK! (Both football team and twilight team) :)**

**-Shelby :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Twilight, I do however own Ellie, and my cousin owns Ava... I wish I owned Jacob, but that's a different story... ;)**

* * *

Chapter 13

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

I groaned, not wanting to get up or even open my eyes.

"Whosit?…" Jacob murmured groggily, pulling me closer to him.

We had fallen asleep on the couch the night before, and apparently it was now day time and there was a visitor at the Black house.

"JACOB! Answer the door! That's probably the delivery girl! She has those quilts Sue ordered!" Billy called from the back bedroom.

Jacob, instead of getting up, froze and even seemed to stop breathing.

"Jake… get the door please." I mumbled.

Still nothing.

I pushed him off the couch and got up to get the door myself.

"Lazy bum." I muttered.

I signed for the package, left it on the table, then went to stand over Jacob who was now sitting up on the floor, looking at the couch.

"What was that all about?" I asked, getting irritated at his strange behavior.

"Nothing."

Another knock came on the door.

"ARGH! TELL THEM TO GO AWAY!" Jacob shouted, burying his face in the throw from the couch.

I narrowed my eyes at him and answered the door. It was Emily.

"I was just dropping off some jam I made…" She said, handing me the jar, hugging me, then flitting off.

"Get off the floor Jacob."

He looked at me resignedly and got up.

"What's going on with you?!" I asked. I had a feeling it had something to do with what Leah had been bugging him about previously.

He got up and walked out the door.

"Jacob!" I followed him to the end of the driveway.

He turned around.

"It's just… ugh! I hate this! Every time I go ANYWHERE, I'm constantly worrying that I'll imprint on some other girl… I have to keep my eyes down, I'm basically an anti-social idiot. I don't want to lose you. I don't want to hurt you like Sam hurt Leah. Please, save yourself from this. From the risk. It could happen any day. I could lose you at any moment." He said, his voice sounded panicked and strange.

"So you'd rather just push me away yourself?" I asked quietly.

"I would rather _know_ that I was doing it… I don't want to be scared all the time. I don't want _you_ to be scared all the time."

"Jacob. Have I _ever_ said anything about being scared of this?" I said plainly.

"No… but I'm sure you're thinking about it now…"

"Well, yes, but-"

"But nothing! Ellie… please. Every moment I'm with you the stakes get higher. I fall more and more in love with you. You have to leave. We have to stop this before it goes any further." His eyes were filled with agony and he clenched his teeth together.

"Right now. You want me to leave right now." I stated back to him, my voice surprisingly steady.

As he nodded, he avoided my eyes and I saw his hands were balled into fists and they were shaking.

I drew a breath and took a step towards him. He flinched as if I'd hit him. I got to where I was within a millimeter of his body and looked up into his tortured dark eyes.

"You can't keep me away. Just go ahead and try… it won't work." I stood there for a second, feeling the heat radiate from him and his warm breath on my hair. And then I walked away. I got in my car and started to drive home.

* * *

About two miles up the road leading away from La Push, my car broke down. It just sort of sputtered and died.

I got out, kicked the door and started to push it towards the side of the road. How Jacob had pushed it UP my driveway, I couldn't fathom.

When it was finally well out of the way I leaned against it and just stood there for a minute, realizing I had left my phone on the Black's kitchen table. I had two options: Walk back to La Push or walk home.

I looked down the road towards La Push and sighed. I really didn't want to have to talk to Jacob after that explosive outburst. I realized then that I hadn't really made any sense. I had told him that he couldn't keep me away, yet I had just gotten in my car and left, just like he wanted me to.

After a few more minutes of pondering, I finally decided to walk home. It was a good 5 miles till I got into Forks where I could either get to a phone or get a ride, but I felt like I needed the time to think. As I began up the road, I realized how quiet it was. There wasn't a sound, sometimes you could barely make out the rustle of leaves.

A thick veil of mist clung to the air and made my skin sticky and clothes and hair damp. Though it was still summer it was cold, or maybe it was just intensified in my mind from not having Jacob by my side. A chill ran up my spine. Something wasn't right. I couldn't tell what but what I did know was that I felt sort of naked without Jacob there beside me. Like I was so incredibly vulnerable and I was wearing a sign that said, "Now weak and defenseless."

I heard a twig break somewhere in the dense forest to my left and I quickened my pace.

My breathing became shallow as I started to run. I didn't know why I was running, but something was telling me to.

Then something rock hard ran into me and knocked me on the ground, leaving me breathless and with a busted lip.

The sickly sweet smell of vampire surrounded me and I knew it was Ava. I struggled to flip over so that maybe I could talk some sense into her. For some reason, I was calmer then, than I had been a few moments earlier.

I finally managed to flip over and I looked into Ava's pitch black eyes.

I gasped for air as she pinned my arms down and grabbed my throat.

"Ava..." I sputtered.

She didn't answer, but instead let out a terrifying hiss. And then I knew. I knew this wasn't like our lessons. Jacob or Edward or Carlisle wasn't there to pull her off of me. She wasn't Ava, my friend. She was going to kill me.

* * *

"JACOB!!!" I screamed as loud as I could. I tripped over my own feet, but finally managed to stand, only to have her knock me down again. I kicked her in the stomach but it only made my knee give out and set in a funny position.

She shook her long hair out of her face and poised to bite me. I swear my heart stopped in that moment. At least, it felt like it did. I can't remember breathing, or feeling, or anything. Just numbness. And I could only think of how badly I had left things with Jacob.

But she stopped. Centimeters away from my neck she stopped. I don't know why she did it but she stopped. I was still for a second but then I finally shoved her head away as hard as I could.

She fell back, not with pain, but from surprise. I used those precious seconds to drag myself to the edge of the woods. I didn't know what I would do next, but I knew I was stalling my imminent death.

She gathered herself and started coming at me again so I braced myself. But I didn't need to. A flash of russet shot out of the woods and knocked Ava onto her back.

He looked vicious, more terrifying than I had ever seen him. I knew he was on a one way track to kill her.

"STOP!" I yelled.

He whipped his giant head in my direction and stared at me.

"Don't kill her, Jacob…" I reasoned. Ava was thrashing about wildly.

He snarled at me and I understood that I needed to look away.

I heard a terrible crunching noise, then felt myself being swept away.

* * *

Jacob and I ran past the Cullens' house, ran out of Forks, and just kept running. We finally stopped well after dark.

Jacob gently tipped me off of his back, then lumbered behind a tree.

He emerged into the moonlight in his human form. He looked haggard. Tortured. Scared beyond imagination. It broke my heart.

Slowly he looked over at me, then ran to my side and gathered me in his arms.

Tears spilled out of my cheeks and I finally let out all the emotion that had been building inside of me for weeks.

"Don't let go…" I whispered, clutching at the skin on his shoulders.

"I'm… I'm sorry."

"I know."

* * *

We walked slowly hand in hand through the dense wood we were in. Jacob was moving sluggishly- it was strange and out of character.

We finally reached the edge of the wood, which opened into a parking lot.

"Where are we?" I whispered.

"Canada." He said quietly, as if it were no big deal.

I decided not to push him, and instead let him lead me across a street to a small, inhospitable looking motel.

"We're staying here." He stated.

"Jacob, stop." I pulled gently on his arm.

As he turned to face me, I shivered. The dark, tortured shadow was still cast over his face, making him look unfamiliar and distant.

"I'm not taking you back." He said firmly.

"That's not up to you."

"Yes it is. I've dragged you into this mess, I'm getting you out. And that means not going back to Forks for a while."

"How long is a while?"

"However long it takes for me to know that the leech is dead and no longer a threat to you."

I sighed and closed my eyes. "We're calling the Cullens when we get inside."

"Fine."

* * *

The room was small and not at all cozy. There was only one bed, which made my heart race a little, even though Jacob and I had slept in the same bed many times. The pictures on the walls looked mass produced, they were black and white stills of random items like spoons and other oddities. The walls were bland and the light overhead flickered disconcertingly. Immediately I found myself craving the warmth and familiarity of the Black house, or even my own room.

I picked up the phone with quivering hands and looked over at Jacob before dialing. He was seated on the edge of the bed, head in hands, his breaths coming deep and slow.

It only rang once before I heard Alice's voice.

"Hello?!" She said shrilly.

"Alice!" I switched on speaker phone.

"Oh thank GOD!" she shrieked. "We've been trying to reach you for hours! If only you weren't with the mongrel and I could see what had happened to you…"

I ignored her last comment. "How is everything?" I asked unsurely. The question seemed a bit tame for what had just occurred earlier that day.

"Under control. Ava is locked up in her room under Emmett's supervision. I knew she had attacked you. You were alone and I saw it. But we couldn't tell where you were. Then I guess the dog showed up and clouded my vision." Jacob grunted at this. "When you two ran by the house, Ava followed, and we were able to capture her. She's not going to hurt you again Ellie." The last sentence was said with quiet reverence.

"What's going to happen to her?"

"Nothing. But it was because of our carelessness that this happened. She was supposed to be hunting with us, but we let her out of sight, and she must have caught wind of your blood. I'm sure smelling your blood at the session the other day didn't help either…"

Jacob slumped even further and I rubbed his back slowly.

"So is it safe to come home?"

"Yes."

"Okay, thanks Alice. Make sure to tell everyone it's alright. Especially Ava."

"Edward already has."

"Good… well, goodbye."

"Bye!"

I slowly hung the phone up and turned to Jacob.

"Can we please go home?" I whispered.

He looked up at me from his hands and winced. He was tired. Beyond tired. Complete exhaustion flooded his eyes.

"Maybe tomorrow." I said softly, then crawled under the covers.

He crawled in beside me and stroked my hair until we both fell into dreamless sleep.

* * *

**Hi everyone! Thanks for reading! And a BIGGGG thanks to my reviewers! Y'all are awesome :) Okay, well the story is winding down now... only a few more chapters left, I think... but I hope you enjoyed this one! I'll try and post soon, but I have exams next week, so no promises :/ I love you all!**

**Oh and as always, thanks to my cousin Kendall :)**

**-Shelby **


	14. Chapter 14

**Here's a late Christmas present for my readers :)**

* * *

My eyes fluttered open to an unfamiliar room. It took a while to register where I was. I curled into a ball at the draft that was running over me and instinctively reached for Jacob.

When I didn't feel him, I sat up and looked around at the dim, lifeless room.

"Jake?" I whispered pitifully. Gathering the sheets around me I got up and walked the perimeter of the room. I sat down hard on the bed and pulled the sheets tighter to me.

A tear fell to my lap and I wiped it away hastily. Everything that had happened the night before was beginning to register and it felt like a huge weight was pressing in on me, suffocating me beneath.

The door knob turned slowly and I whipped my head around to face it. It swung open lazily, and revealed a very despondent looking Jacob.

"Jacob…" I whimpered. He ran to my side and gathered me in his arms. Immediately his sweet spicy warm scent soothed me. "I thought you had left me…"

"Never." He murmured into my hair.

"Where were you?" I asked, pressing my lips to his neck.

"The bank…" He pulled out an enormous wad of cash.

"What the hell is that?" I asked, bewildered.

"It's so we can live… for a few months anyways."

"But I thought we could go back to Forks…"

His shoulders slumped and he stuffed the cash into his pocket. "I just… I don't want you to get hurt again."

"Jacob… I would love to run away with you and never be seen again… but I would miss everyone too much. Let's go home."

* * *

When we rounded the corner to La Push, the sun was sinking below the horizon and the darkness was creeping in, the stars visible through a layer of thin, wispy clouds. The moon was merely a sliver, threatening to disappear at any moment.

I had been gone for almost two days now. I had stormed out before dinner and hadn't come back. I could already imagine my mother's frantic phone calls and the police combing the woods for Jacob and me.

Despite this, we had chosen to go to La Push first. There was a 50/50 chance that my parents would be THERE, plus, at this point, I was just buying myself time with Jacob before I was locked in my room like Rapunzel.

Jacob had phased back into a human about a mile back, and now we were just sort of sauntering down the road. He had a hot, heavy arm squeezed protectively around my shoulder and I had wrapped my arms around his waist. He was still on edge. The muscles in his face were rigid and his eyes stared straight ahead. I wanted desperately to ask him what he was thinking but instead I kept quiet, it felt like I would break the perfection of dusk if I made a sound.

As we got closer and closer I heard a rustle in the woods. I turned to face the noise and my gaze met a pair of golden-yellow eyes. Quil. There was only an ounce of light left in the sky, but I could make out his towering chocolate brown silhouette as well as Leah's glossy gray coat. I nudged Jake and he merely nodded, keeping his eyes focused forward.

"The others went ahead and told Billy and Sue we were back…"

That was good. They were sure to be worried. I half expected them to call my parents and have them there for our arrival. As we came onto pack lands Leah disappeared into the woods and as we approached the Black's property Quil also seemed to fade into the background. I couldn't wait to get inside. We had been out in the muggy heat all day and some air conditioning would be nice, but just as we were about to turn into the Black's driveway I saw something up the road. A familiar laugh sounded from the place where the road wound out of view and into the forest and I spotted two familiar faces as they walked slowly, looking at each other and smiling.

"Is that…" I trailed off and squinted into the darkness.

"Laurel?" Jacob answered. We picked up our pace and followed the shadowy couple into Jacob's house.

First I was smothered in a hug from Sue who after being assured a million times that I was alright, went into the kitchen to continue cooking.

"Laurel! What are you doing here?" I exclaimed. Her eyes widened and she pulled me into a hug.

"Ellie! Geez, I've been worried about you!"

"Why are you here?" I repeated slowly. I wasn't mad at all, it was just strange seeing someone from my 'other' life at the res. It was like my two separate worlds that weren't supposed to touch, were all of a sudden swirling together.

"Ummm… well I came looking for you and…" She trailed off and looked at Embry.

"And what?" I said suspiciously, looking back and forth between the two of them. Realization started to wash over me. "Ohhhhh…"

"Great." Jacob murmured.

"So… you know?" I asked her quietly.

She nodded slowly. "I'm kinda freaking out." I pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry I haven't been talking to you… I've been… busy." I nodded to Jacob.

"Understood." She shot me a meek smile. "But hopefully now… we'll get to hang out more?"

"Definitely." I smiled. "Unless I'm grounded for eternity. Which is very likely. Speaking of which, I should probably head back home in a few minutes… are you staying?"

She nodded and grinned at Embry. "Yeah, I think so."

I smiled and pulled Jacob out the door. When we were outside he stopped and shook free from my hand.

"Another one down." He muttered.

"Jacob… are you honestly freaking out about Embry imprinting?"

"Yes, Ellie, I am! Look at him. Look at the whole pack! They're all trucking along fine then BAM! they get hit with it. They don't know when, they don't know who. It just sneaks up and takes everything they knew away…"

I lowered my voice to ask the question I had been wondering all along. "Jake… how do you know you didn't imprint on me?"

He looked into my eyes intently. "Because… this is real. Not some binding folklore. I'm bound to you… but not in the way that I lose my sense of self… This is better. And I don't want to lose it."

I placed my hand on his cheek and he turned away.

He started walking briskly around the house. "Dammit Ellie! Why is this happening?" But I knew he wasn't really running from me. If he had been, he could have sprinted off and would never see me again.

"I can't believe you're still worried about imprinting on someone else, when I just almost got killed for the THIRD time in a row…" I snapped.

"I can protect you from vampires… but I can't protect you from myself…" He said firmly over his shoulder. As he picked up his pace, I slowed to a halt.

"Jacob. Stop. Will you just STOP? Stop." Tears burned hot in my eyes and rolled down my face.

He froze and took a deep breath before turning around to face me. His face was set into a grimace of pain and he looked older, harsher, than I had ever seen him, even right after the attack.

"Do you realize what you're doing?" I asked softly. "You're doing exactly what Edward did to Bella. Telling her they shouldn't be together for 'her own good'. I hope it doesn't take a suicide attempt to get you to realize we belong together. Separate we're just two really lost, really unhappy people. But together, we have everything. You need to be man enough to get over your fear, and just move on. With me. I'm here right now, and I'm not going anywhere. Because I physically cannot live without you. You may as well have imprinted on me because I feel like you're everything I need you to be. I can't let go of you like it's nothing. Not now, not ever." Tears rolled fiercely down my cheeks and I saw something break in Jacob.

The strangest look overcame his face as he walked slowly towards me. Like a billion emotions were flowing through him. But as I looked into his eyes, I saw one I recognized easily. I had seen it on Emily's face whenever she saw Sam. I had seen it on my parents faces whenever they saw each other. On Edward's face. On Bella's face. And I had felt it on my own whenever Jacob even remotely entered my mind. Love.

He tentatively cupped my face in his hands and wiped my tears away with his thumbs. He kissed me and all the broken pieces came back together. When we broke apart he pulled me to him, into the place where I fit perfectly against him.

"I love you."

* * *

We decided to walk back to my house instead of driving to give us more time together.

The mood was light. Much like when we had first met. I felt giddy. And Jacob was no longer tense.

That stupid goofy grin of his hadn't left his lips since we had finally resolved the whole imprinting thing. His hands were jabbed deep into his pockets and he was kind of walking over himself, looking down at his feet, thinking who knows what.

I shook my head in amusement and "accidentally" bumped my shoulder into his. He gently bumped me back and we continued back and forth for a few minutes before Jacob finally just wrapped his arms around me.

"What is with you?" I asked playfully.

"I'm just… relieved."

"Me too."

"This summer has been…"

"Crazy?"

"Amazing."

"That too."

* * *

My house finally came into view and I wilted a bit. Jacob squeezed my hand and pulled me out of the streetlight and into the shadow of a cluster of trees.

"Well Jacob Black, it was nice knowing you…" I whispered, giving him a half smile.

He laughed softly. "I'll come by tomorrow…"

"If they don't bar my windows shut…"

He grinned then kissed me gently. "Goodnight Ellie. I love you."

"I love you too." I placed a hand on his cheek and let him slip away into the darkness.

As I walked up the front steps, my heart was pounding. My parents were going to go mental when I told them the truth. Or part of the truth.

I stopped and turned around. I saw nothing but darkness. I needed him. But I had to do this alone. I couldn't have him standing there looking all goofy, just waiting for Mike to go ballistic and attempt to beat him up. So I turned back towards the door and walked up the last few steps.

My hands were shaking uncontrollably as I rang the doorbell. A shadow passed over the glass in the door a few seconds later and I heard the latch being undone. As the door swung open I heard a shriek and was mauled by my mother.

"…Ellie… oh God. Oh God oh God oh God. You're alive. Steve! She's here! She's here!"

Mom pulled away and looked at me properly. Tears were spilling from her eyes and her lower lip trembled as she ushered me inside the house.

Dad came running in from the kitchen and Mike came thundering down the stairs and before I knew it I was in a family hug. When they were all through hugging and crying, I was led into the living room and sat down on the couch. The three of them stood in front of me like they were about to start interrogating me, but all they did was stare.

Finally, Dad said, "Are you okay?"

I nodded adamantly. "Yes. 100%."

Mom let out a breath and told Dad to go call Charlie, that I was home.

"You look like hell." Mike said, plopping down in the armchair.

"Mike!" Mom hissed, rubbing her hands hastily over her dress.

"Mom, it's alright. I'm not going to explode if someone says something…"

She looked at me doubtfully, but finally sat down beside me. Dad came back in looking slightly confused and angry.

"I told Charlie… but apparently he already knew. Jacob's dad called him about an hour ago telling him that Jacob and Ellie had shown up at La Push."

Everyone's eyes were on me once more.

"I knew you were with that irresponsible idiot." Mike snapped.

"He's not irresponsible, and he's not an idiot… he actually went after me. We got in a fight and I drove off, but then my car broke down, so I just sort of started running through the woods. I didn't stop until I was good and lost. Jacob came looking for me and finally talked me into coming back home. But it took us awhile to find our way back. Jacob saved me. If he hadn't shown up, I would have died."

No one said anything.

Dad cleared his throat. "Well then… that's it?"

I nodded.

"Aren't you going to address the fact that you were supposed to be at Laurel's?"

Crap. I was so proud of myself for coming up with a logical excuse that actually showed Jacob in a positive light that I had totally iced over that little detail. "Oh yeah…"

"So… you've been at the reservation ALL those times you said you were at Laurel's?" Mom asked, an edge of bewilderment in her voice.

I sheepishly looked up at her. "Yes?"

"Oh Lord… Eleanor Kathleen Newton! I thought we raised you better! Traipsing off to some boy's house for most of the summer? And here I thought that you and Laurel were just catching up from the lost years… when really, you've been being promiscuous with some res boy!"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mike smirking and anger began to boil in my veins. "MOM! I was not being 'promiscuous'! I'm in love with Jacob. And La Push feels like home. We've never slept together! Call Sue, Jacob's stepmom and ask her yourself what we've been doing! I've been experiencing what it's like to be a teenager for once in my life… Unlike at that god awful 'gifted children's' boarding school! Did you even ask if I wanted to go there? No. You just assumed that since I was smart enough to get in, I must want terribly to attend. Well, guess what? I didn't want to go. I wasn't ready. So excuse me for wanting to live!" I stood up and stormed up to my room where I collapsed onto my bed in sobs.

I tried to analyze what had been said, but words didn't come. My head was empty. I was just… exhausted. I finally stopped crying and heard a creak from the floor board. I looked up and saw Mike standing there. He sat down beside me and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry El…"

"Sorry for what?" I asked, genuinely confused. As far as I was concerned, Mike hadn't done anything except for be a typical obnoxious, over protective brother.

"Everything. Being an asshole about Jacob. For not standing up for you when Janie was on her war path- well actually, just Janie in general. For not attempting to be a better older brother. And for saying you looked like hell just a few minutes ago… you don't, you look beautiful as usual."

I laughed through the tears that had started rolling down my face again. "You're lying about that last bit… but other than that… thank you. And I'm sorry as well. I should've been home more. A lot more. I just-"

"Couldn't stay away from him."

I nodded and bit my lip. "Yeah… and there's more to it… but I can't really explain."

"I know."

"What?"

"I know something strange is going on with the res kids… and then the Cullens. There's something not right about either group…"

I opened my mouth to say something but he stopped me.

"But I don't want to know… really, I don't. I'm just going to assume that whatever is going on at La Push is something tribal and that the Cullens are just… freaks."

"Fine with me!" I grinned.

We sat there for a minute not saying anything then Mike finally spoke.

"I approve, by the way."

"Of what?"

"Jacob."

"Really?"

"Yeah… he's a good guy. I mean, I would much rather you date him than a Cullen…" He shuddered and we both laughed. He stood up and started walking towards the door.

"Hey Mikey?"

"Hmmm?"

"You wanna go to the batting cages tomorrow?"

"If Mom and Dad allow you out of the house…" he smiled.

I couldn't help but smile too. "I love you Mike."

"I love you too little sis."

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**A/N: Happy New Year everyone! I thought it would be nice to have a little warm fuzzy moment with Mike and Ellie there :) I hope you enjoy! I think there will only be one or two more chapters left :( Please review!**

**- Shelby :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Well readers... like they say... "Sorry doesn't cut it." Huh? Well... without further ado, here's the final chappie of Can't Keep Me Away. I'll put up the Epilogue in a few minutes. Once again, I do not own Twilight or the characters, but I do own Ellie. Sorry this is short! **

Chapter 15

A few months later I was allowed to leave the house. During my grounding I hadn't had any trouble from vampires or werewolves or the monster that was Janie. We weren't going to have any more sessions; the Cullens were planning to move within the year for Renesmee's sake. Jacob said that Emmett had offered to give me their cat again.

Being back at La Push was nice. I finally got to see Laurel again, and Embry and Quil kept egging Jacob on to retell how he fought off a vampire.

Leah seemed oddly contemplative and frowned slightly as Jacob wrapped his warm arm around me in the chilly fall air that wafted in from the open window in the kitchen and gave me a brief kiss.

"Ellie," she finally said, "can you and I have a talk?"

I stood up and Jacob did as well. Leah walked over to him "I'm proud of you, kid." Was all she said before placing her hand on his cheek briefly and walking away, stopping at the door to see if I was following.

Jacob looked at me. "Wait a minute," he mouthed to me.

Leah made her way to the door, looking at me impatiently.

"I'm coming… hold on a sec." I said.

She nodded and went outside, gently closing the door behind her.

"Yes?" I asked.

Jacob sat down and shook his head. "I don't know what she's going to say to you. She seems intent on making you not want to date me. It's because of her broken heart, and as much as I feel her pain—literally—I can't stop you if this is what you want, and she shouldn't be able to either. Listen to your own heart, Ellie."

I leaned down and kissed his nose. "You know I've already made my decision." I said with a smile before heading towards the door. I stopped halfway there and turned around, running back to Jacob. I bent down and kissed him softly. "Happy Birthday."

Leah had already started walking, so I had to run to catch up to her.

When I had fallen into stride with her, she didn't acknowledge me, but said, "Nice night, huh?"

I looked around me. It _was_ nice. The air wasn't too humid or hot and the crickets were chirping merrily as the sun sank below the horizon.

"Sure is."

"So… you're probably wondering why I needed to talk to you."

"Just a bit."

She stopped. I did the same.

"You really love Jacob, don't you?"

I looked down at my feet, smiling, and nodded.

"I get it… I really do. He has that way about him… that irritating, antagonistic, loveable…" she trailed off and snapped out of whatever world she had been drifting into.

She liked Jacob. How had I not seen it before. THAT was why she was so set on us not being together. "Uh… Leah…" I began, not knowing where I was going after that.

"Oh, no no no… it's not… let me explain." She stammered, reading my expression.

We started walking again.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am. For everything. I've been less than accommodating to yours and Jacob's relationship. For a few reasons, but none of those reasons excuse my behavior."

"It's fine Leah… really. But if you don't mind me asking… what exactly-"

"Are the reasons? How did I figure that was coming… well, first off… your whole situation just hit too close to home for me… and honestly, I didn't want you to end up like me. I wouldn't wish that on ANYONE. So I thought it was a bit selfish of Jacob to keep dragging it out…. Then there's the other matter. My feelings for Jacob. He's the only person who can read me… I'm his beta. And I guess since we were both nursing broken hearts after Bella had her urchin child… I tried to fabricate some feelings there. I love Jacob. I do. But he's my brother. Nothing more. He loves you. Not me. So, I don't want you to ever worry about me getting in the way THAT way. I'm still holding out on MY imprint." She laughed and I couldn't help but join her.

She seemed different… happy almost. I was certainly seeing a different side of her than I had before.

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**Thanks to my cousin hufflepuffbrunette for all her help and nagging and hope that I would one day finish this. I did it! (kinda) ;) **


	16. Epilogue

Epilogue

A little over one year later

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Sue exclaimed, pulling me into her open arms.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" I replied, smiling from ear to ear. I peeked around her to see who was in the house.

"He and the rest of the boys will be here later…" Sue said with a playful grin, reading my mind perfectly.

"Ellie!" Emily said, wiping her hands on a dish towel and hugging me. "Come help with the cooking!"

Soon I was suited with an apron and spoon, and set to making a platter of dressing that was the size of about 5 plates.

Just as I was finishing up, I heard the front door open and an Indian battle cry filled the house. I turned around to see the whole pack dressed in traditional Indian costumes. Which basically meant a headdress and a loin cloth.

I busted out laughing as they ran through the kitchen.

Emily pulled a few dollar bills out and threw them at the boys. "Show us what you got boys!"

"No, please don't…" Sue said with an eye roll.

Sam came up and wrapped his arms around Emily and kissed her softly. "Mmmm… pretty good." She laughed.

Quil, however, got on top of the table and began dancing around like an idiot, apparently trying to be seductive.

"BOOOO!" Jared yelled.

"That's pathetic, Quil. Please don't ever quit your day job to be a stripper." Leah said sardonically.

I looked around and saw that Jacob wasn't there.

As if on command, he ran in the door, wearing a headdress bigger than anyone else's and carrying Claire on his back.

Quil immediately jumped off the table and took Claire from him, then ran outside with her.

I stood up, took off my apron, and Jacob gathered me in his arms. The feel of his bare skin made my skin tingle and I felt giddy like a girl with an elementary school crush.

He kissed my neck softly and nuzzled his face into my hair.

"Hey baby."

"Hi there, Chief Black." I giggled.

He tilted my head back and kissed me deeply, to where some of the boys started whistling and whooping and hollering and when we broke apart I felt my cheeks burning.

He pulled me into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

I turned around and took off his headdress before ruffling his hair. "Babe… why are you in a loin cloth?… not that I mind at all." I ran my fingers over his abs.

"I'll keep in mind you like the barely clothed thing…" He laughed and kissed my nose. "But actually, we went around the res, for the kids, and showed them the true spirit of Thanksgiving."

I laughed. "Wow… and what would that be?"

"That Indians kick ass." Embry said plainly.

I wound my arms around Jacob's neck and looked him in the eyes, "Happy Thanksgiving Jacob."

"Happy Thanksgiving Ellie."

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**I think this tied up the story LOADS better than the last chapter. Just a little fuzz to make everyone's hearts happy ^^ **

**Thank you doesn't even begin to cover it... My readers are the best... really, especially those who took time to review. I never thought that back when I started this in high school, I would have people actually READING this and wanting more every time I posted a chapter! How cool! You all have encouraged me to take on bigger things, and actually *gasp* think about writing something publishable (I don't know if that's even a word). But really, it's been fun and I've learned a lot. This may be the end of Ellie... maybe not. Who knows where my writings will take me? I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful 2011! **

**-Shelby **


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